Electrochemical Study of a Trivalent Chromium Bath for Compositionally Modulated Multilayer Application

摘要

Multilayer films or compositionally modulated multilayers (CMM) consist of alternating layers of two different metals or alloys. Compared with pure metals, these materials seem to possess unusual and enhanced mechanical and magnetic characteristics, such as improved strength, wear and corrosion resistance, super-modulus, and giant magnetoresistance (GMR), when the sublayer thickness is in the nanometer range. At the present time, CMMs are essentially prepared by vacuum deposition techniques such as evaporation, molecular beam epitaxy, and sputtering. Technological difficulties and the cost of such processes are responsible for the development of electrolytic deposition techniques. They are less-expensive and well-established industrial processes. They operate at a lower temperature so the risk of interdiffusion between the different layers is low. They offer a higher choice in the shape and size of the substrate. Higher production rates are also obtained.