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Quantitative TEM analysis of Al/Cu multilayer systems prepared by pulsed laser deposition

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Abstract

Thin films composed of alternating Al/Cu/Al layers were deposited on a (111) Si substrate using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The thicknesses of the film and the individual layers, and the detailed internal structure within the layers were characterized by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), and energy-filtered TEM (EFTEM). Each Al or Cu layer consists of a single layer of nano-sized grains of different orientations. EFTEM results revealed a layer of oxide about 2 nm thick on the surface of the Si substrate, which is considered to be the reason for the formation of the first layer of nano-sized Al grains. The results demonstrate that the PLD technique is a powerful tool to produce nano-scale multilayered metal films with controllable thickness and grain sizes.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Fundamental Research: Metal Structures in Four Dimensions, Materials Research Division, Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark

    H. H. Liu & X. Huang

  2. Fuel Cells and Solid State Chemistry Division, Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark

    N. Pryds

  3. Department of Photonics Engineering, Risø Campus, Technical University of Denmark, 4000, Roskilde, Denmark

    J. Schou

Authors
  1. H. H. Liu
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  2. N. Pryds
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  3. J. Schou
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  4. X. Huang
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Correspondence to H. H. Liu.

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Liu, H.H., Pryds, N., Schou, J. et al. Quantitative TEM analysis of Al/Cu multilayer systems prepared by pulsed laser deposition. Appl. Phys. A 101, 677–680 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-010-5923-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-010-5923-6

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