We observed that diffuse interfaces sharpen rather than broaden in completely miscible ideal binary systems. This is shown in situ during heat treatments at gradually increasing temperatures by scattering of synchrotron radiation in coherent Mo/V multilayers containing initially diffuse interfaces. This effect provides a useful tool for the improvement of interfaces and offers a way to fabricat...

Electrostatic assembly of multilayered thin films through sequential adsorption of polyions in layer-by-layer fashion utilizes the strong electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged molecules. We perform molecular dynamics simulations of multilayers of flexible polyelectrolytes around a charged spherical particle. Our simulations establish that the charge reversal after each deposition ...

This contribution reports the first X-ray standing wave structural characterization of self-assembled NLOactive chromophoric multilayers (SAMs). These siloxane-based self-assembled stilbazolium multilayers are intrinsically acentric and exhibit very large second-order nonlinear optical responses. The locations of bromide ions within the SAMs were precisely determined using X-ray standing waves ...

Soft x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy has been employed to obtain information about the Si-derived valence band states of Fe/Si multilayers. The valence band spectra are quite different for films with and without antiferromagnetic interlayer exchange coupling, demonstrating that these multilayers have different silicide phases in their spacer layers. Comparison with previously published fluoresc...

The elastic properties of nanotubes fabricated by layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of polyelectrolytes in the nanopores of polycarbonate track-etched membranes have been investigated by resonant contact Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), for nanotube diameters in the range of 100 to 200 nm. The elastic modulus of the nanotubes was computed from the resonance frequencies of a cantilever resting on free...

Magnetic patterning, with designed spatial profile of the desired magnetic properties, has been a rising challenge for developing magnetic devices at nanoscale. Most existing methods rely on locally modifying magnetic anisotropy energy or saturation magnetization, and thus post stringent constraints on the adaptability in diverse applications. We propose an alternative route for magnetic patter...

ZnO/Al2O3 multilayers were prepared by alternating atomic layer deposition (ALD) at 150°C using diethylzinc, trimethylaluminum, and water. The growth process, crystallinity, and electrical and optical properties of the multilayers were studied with a variety of the cycle ratios of ZnO and Al2O3 sublayers. Transparent conductive Al-doped ZnO films were prepared with the minimum resistivity of 2....

Antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling between ferromagnetic layers of EuS via nonmagnetic PbS spacer layer was experimentally studied in EuS– PbS wedge multilayers grown on KCl (001) substrates with EuS thickness of 6 nm and PbS thickness varying in the wedges in the range 0.3–6 nm (i.e. n = 1−20 monolayers). Measurements of magnetic hysteresis loops of EuS–PbS multilayers performed in the temp...

Tetragonal L10 ordered Fe/Pt multilayers were prepared by molecular-beam epitaxy on Pt-buffered MgOs001d substrates at 500 °C. An ultrathin Ag s0.5 nmd layer was symmetrically inserted into fFe/Ptg bilayers with different periods to introduce defects or pinning sites at the interfaces of Ag and Fe/Pt bilayers. The effects of Ag pinning layers in the Fe/Pt multilayers have been studied. The inse...

Impact of Ar gas pressure (1−4 mTorr) on the growth of amorphous interlayers in Mo/Si multilayers deposited by magnetron sputtering was investigated by small-angle x-ray scattering (λ=0.154 nm) and methods of cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. Some reduction of thickness of the amorphous inter-layers with Ar pressure increase was found, while composition of the layers was enriche...