Growth and structural characterization of epitaxial Cu/Nb multilayers

Electron beam evaporation with optimized deposition parameters has been used to grow good quality epitaxial Cu/Nb nanoscale multilayered films on sapphire substrates. The quality of the epitaxial films, as measured by the intensities and widths of the X-ray diffraction peaks, increases with increasing deposition temperature. However, high deposition temperatures also enhance the tendency for layer pinch-off which eventually leads to spheroidization and growth of multilayer films with polycrystalline islands. Deposition temperatures and rates were optimized to produce the highest quality epitaxial films with continuous nanolayers, suitable for in situ deformation experiments in a synchrotron-based Laue micro-diffraction set up.