Swift heavy ion irradiation effects in Pt/C and Ni/C multilayers

Irradiation effects of 100 MeV Ag ion irradiation on Ni/C and Pt/C multilay ers have been studied using X-ray reflectivity measurements. Modifications are observed in both the multilayers at (dE/dx)(e) values much below the th reshold values for Ni and Pt. This effect is attributed to the discontinuou s nature of the metal layers. In both the multilayers interfacial roughness increases with irradiation dose. While Ni/C multilayers exhibit large ion- beam induced intermixing, no observable intermixing is observed in the case of Pt/C multilayer. This difference in the behavior of the two systems sug gests a significant role for chemically guided defect motion in the mixing process associated with swift heavy ion irradiation. (C) 1997 Elsevier Scie nce B.V. All rights reserved.