Solid-phase synthesis of solid solutions in Cu/Ni(001) epitaxial nanofilms

Solid-phase synthesis of solid solutions in the epitaxial Cu/Ni(001) bilayer film systems of compositions 3Cu: 1Ni, 1Cu: 1Ni, and 1Cu: 3Ni has been studied using the X-ray diffraction methods. The saturation magnetization and the magnetic crystallographic anisotropy constant on nickel vary in accordance with the solid solution formation. The initiation temperature of the solid solutions is about 350 °C and is independent of the Ni: Cu layer thickness ratio. The solid-phase synthesis of the solid solutions is presumably attributed to the transport of the Cu atoms to the epitaxial Ni(001) layer. It is found that the solid-phase synthesis in the Cu/Ni bilayer nanofilms and multilayers is determined by the spinodal decomposition in the Cu-Ni system.