Published online by Cambridge University Press: 25 February 2011
Amorphous compositionally modulated films of Cu-Zr and Fe-Ti have been prepared by sequential sputter deposition of the elemental metals. For Cu-Zr, a critical modulation amplitude has been found, below which the samples are entirely amorphous. The effective interdiffusion coefficient during deposition has been estimated, and found to be assisted by the free energy of mixing and the ion bombardment. X-ray studies of the modulation peaks, using grid scans, reveal a sharp mosaic, and asymmetrical peaks in some samples.