Analysis of the Strain Profile in Thin Au/Ni Multilayers by X-Ray Diffraction

A dynamical x-ray diffraction theory has been used to obtain microscopic strain profiles in thin Au/Ni multilayers. Depth profiles of strains in these multilayers, with repeat periodicities varying from 0.82 nm to 9.0 nm, are obtained by an iterative fitting of the calculated diffraction pattern with the experimental one. Interfacial coherency is found to play an important role in understanding the origin of the supermodulus effect in metallic multilayers.