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Anomalously high density and thermal stability of nanotwins in Ni(W) thin films: Quantitative analysis by x-ray diffraction

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Abstract

Magnetron-sputtered Ni(W) films appear to possess a high density of nanotwins oriented parallel to the film surface which highly influences the properties of Ni(W) films. A sophisticated analysis method for describing the stacking sequence of close-packed atomic layers by statistical parameters has been developed which is based on the evaluation of intensity streaks in reciprocal space measured by (x-ray) synchrotron diffraction. In particular, the degree of hexagonality introduced by twinning into these ideally face-centered cubic-stacked films can be quantified. The validity of the proposed analysis has been confirmed by direct observation of the stacking sequences of close-packed layers using (high-resolution) transmission electron microscopy. It has been shown that the degree of hexagonality in the as-deposited state is practically proportional to the W content. Further, the thermal stability of the nanotwins increases with increasing W content which can be understood by the appearance of hexagonal close-packed-like domains exhibiting an intrinsic thermodynamic stability.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful for the allotted beamtime at ESRF and ANKA and thank all involved scientists for technical support (Dr. Carsten Bähtz and Dr. Olga Roshchupkina: Rossendorf Beamline, ESRF; Dr. Miguel Mantilla and Dr. Peter Wochner: Surface Diffraction Beamline, ANKA). Moreover, the following employees of the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems are gratefully acknowledged: Mr. Frank Thiele (thin film growth, Central Scientific Facility ‘Thin Films’); Mrs. Ute Salzberger (TEM sample preparation, Stuttgart Center for Electron Microscopy); and Dr. Ewald Bischoff (TEM investigation). Moreover, the authors thank Mrs. Viola Duppel (HRTEM investigations, Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research) and Dr. Matteo Leoni (University of Trento) for helpful discussions concerning application of the software DIFFaXplus.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Phase Transformations, Thermodynamics and Kinetics, Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems (formerly Max Planck Institute for Metals Research), D-70569, Stuttgart, Germany

    S. J. B. Kurz, A. Leineweber & E. J. Mittemeijer

  2. Institute for Materials Science, University of Stuttgart, D-70569, Stuttgart, Germany

    E. J. Mittemeijer

Authors
  1. S. J. B. Kurz
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  2. A. Leineweber
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  3. E. J. Mittemeijer
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Correspondence to S. J. B. Kurz.

APPENDIX

APPENDIX

The original fit parameters of the transition matrix describing the stacking sequences in the as-deposited two-phase fcc + hcp films have been gathered in Table A1, as well as the calculated volume fractions and degree of hexagonality.

TABLE A1 Fit parameters of the transition matrix, calculated volume fractions, and degrees of hexagonality of the as-deposited “two-phase” fcc + hcp films. All parameters have been expressed as a percentage.
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Kurz, S.J.B., Leineweber, A. & Mittemeijer, E.J. Anomalously high density and thermal stability of nanotwins in Ni(W) thin films: Quantitative analysis by x-ray diffraction. Journal of Materials Research 29, 1642–1655 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2014.202

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