Size- and strain-dependent buckle dimensions of nanostructured Cu/Nb multilayers on polyimide substrates

The size- and strain-dependent buckle dimensions of nanostructured Cu/Nb multilayers have been systematically investigated as a function of modulation ratios η, ranging from 0.1 to 2.0. It is found that the evolution of buckle dimensions with applied strain ε exhibits different trends, highly dependent on η. The buckle dimensions of the smaller η multilayers gradually increase with the increase in applied strain ε, while those of the larger η multilayers are independent on ε. The average buckle dimensions are also found to increase monotonically with the decreasing η. The size- and strain-dependent buckle dimensions, related to the buckle propagation, can be explained reasonably in terms of size-dependent plastic deformation.