Analysis of the strain profile in thin Au/Ni multilayers by x-ray diffraction

The strain relaxation in Au/Ni multilayers was analyzed in detail using a dynamical theory of x-ray diffraction. The depth profile of strain in the modulation direction was determined by an iterative fitting of the calculated rocking curve with the experimental one. The repeat periods of Au/Ni multilayers used in this study range from 0.82 to 9.0 nm. The analysis indicates that the theoretical x-ray patterns are extremely sensitive to the amount of strain at the interface.