CHARACTERIZATION OF MULTILAYER-INTERFACES BY X-RAY-DIFFRACTION, TEM, SNMS AND AES

Prototypes of Ni-C multilayers (up to 40 periods of typically 5 nm thi ckness) have been prepared by laser pulse vapour deposition (LPVD) and analyzed by a variety of methods. The work showed near normal X-ray r eflectivities of typically 5%; an interface roughness ranging from < 1 angstrom (determined by image processing of TEM micrographs) to 5 ang strom (determined by simulation of X-ray diffraction); a compensation for the roughness component that is caused by the substrate surface an d impurity concentrations < 1 at.-% in layers and in interfacial regio ns. X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and image proc essing have been successfully used for the investigation of the interf acial regions, whereas depth profiling methods that involve sputtering (SNMS and AES) can not provide resolution below 10 angstrom.