ELECTRODEPOSITION OF ARTIFICIALLY LAYERED MATERIALS.

Artificially layered materials of alternating thin copper and nickel or cobalt layers have been produced by electrodeposition techniques on polycrystalline copper substrates. Materials with layer thickness ranging from 2 to 300 nm, with overall dimensions 50 microns multiplied by 10cm multiplied by 3 cm have been prepared. Both potentiostatic and galvanostatic electrodeposition approaches were investigated. The potentiostatic technique allows the production of sharp interfaces between components of the alloy but does not permit accurate control over thickness. The galvanostatic technique results in a diffuse interface on one side of the layer. A technique to produce sharp interfaces on both sides of the layer and which opens the possibility of setting up a desired and controlled layer composition has been developed. In particular, it becomes possible to produce either sharp or graded interfaces. Both TEM and FIM (field ion microscopy) indicate that the layered material grows epitaxially through many layers.