Published online by Cambridge University Press: 15 February 2011
In-plane and out-of-plane lattice parameters were measured in a series of coherent Fe-Cu multilayers using non-axial high resolution electron microscopy (HREM). The results indicate that the multilayers are tetragonally distorted with the magnitude of the distortion varying with the thickness of the Fe component. These distortions preclude an understanding of the multilayer structure in terms of conventional elasticity theory. The breakdown of epitaxy for thicker Fe layers was also investigated and it was found that the b.c.c. Fe grew with [110] parallel to [001] of the coherent f.c.c. multilayer.