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Hardness, ductility, and thermal processing of Cu/Zr and Cu/Cu-Zr nanoscale multilayer foils

Journal Article · · Acta Materialia
; ;  [1]
  1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab., CA (United States)

The hardness, ductility, and thermal processing of Cu/Zr and Cu/Cu-Zr multilayers were investigated by indenting, bending, and heating a series of free-standing multilayer foils. The foils were deposited with alternate, nanoscale layers of Cu and Zr, and then thermally processed to produce three additional nanostructures: alternate layers of Cu and amorphous Cu-Zr(aCu-Zr); alternate layers of Cu and Cu{sub 51}Zr{sub 14}; and a non-layered structure with small Cu grains in large Cu{sub 9}Zr{sub 2} grains. The hardness and ductility of the foils depended strongly on the degree of thermal processing and varied dramatically with the volume fraction of the Zr or Cu-Zr phases in each of the four nanostructures. The dependence of hardness on volume fraction was stronger when the films were indented parallel to their layering than when the foils were indented perpendicular to their layering. This result demonstrates that plastic deformation is anisotropic in these multilayer samples.

Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-48
OSTI ID:
514653
Journal Information:
Acta Materialia, Journal Name: Acta Materialia Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 45; ISSN 1359-6454; ISSN ACMAFD
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English