Structure and Growth Mechanism of V/Ag Multilayers with Different Periodic Thickness Fabricated by Magnetron Sputtering Deposition

V/Ag multilayers with different periodic thicknesses were fabricated by magnetron sputtering deposition. The columnar structure and the orientation relationship of the multilayers were investigated by transmission electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, selected-area electron diffraction and X-ray diffraction. It was found that the multilayered structure became flatter as increasing individual layer thickness from 2 to 6 nm, and then became waved as the individual layer thickness increases to 8 nm. At the beginning of the growth, the morphology of the multilayers with small periodic thickness was influenced mainly by thermodynamic instabilities, and the morphology of the multilayers with larger periodic thickness was mainly influenced mainly by the columnar growth of V. When the waved interfaces were formed, the continuum growth of the multilayers was also influenced by the shadowing effect and the finite atomic size effect. All of these factors resulted in the columnar structure of the multilayers. Multilayers with small periodic thickness presented strong orientation relationship. Nano-hardness tests indicated that multilayers with flat sublayer morphology and clear interfaces exhibited larger hardness.