FIM/AP analysis of CuPd multilayers

Multilayers were prepared on well developed tungsten field-ion microscopy (FIM)-tips by subsequent deposition of Pd and Cu with a thickness of about 20 nm. These specimens were annealed isochronically at temperatures between 373 and 723 K. Ladder diagrams obtained by the atom-probe (AP) from the as-prepared specimens showed an interface between Cu and Pd layers indicating a depth resolution of about 1 nm. The heat treated specimens revealed clearly an interdiffusion of the species between the layers. In addition, for the first time investigations with the three-dimensional tomographic AP were performed on such compounds. Preliminary results on the as-prepared and annealed specimens are discussed and interdiffusion coefficients of CuPd are compared with data available from literature.