Defect Studies of Thin Layers by the Vibrating-Reed Technique

Abstract.- The vibrating-reed technique has been successfully adapted to internal friction studies of thin-layer materials. Three examples are described, related to the oxygen contamination of niobium films, grain-boundary sliding of aluminum films, and anelasticity due to hydrogen in metallic glasses. Emphasis is given to the use of thin high-Q substrates as a means of examining supported films down to O.lpm thickness. It has been found that the behavior of films can be radically different from that of bulk samples. For example, two-stage grain-boundary sliding with an activation energy of only 0.55eV has been observed in aluminum films. In metallic glasses, a peak associated with the presence of hydrogen in small low-symmetry interstitial sites has been found in many different alloys, including Pd,oSi20, FegOBz0, Nb40Ni60 and C U ~-, Z ~ ~ ~. 1. Introduction.- The wide applicability of internal friction measurements for the study of defects in solids is based upon two circumstances. First, many defects are stress-active, as evidenced by such phenomena as point-defect reorientation, dislocation bowing, and grain-boundary sliding. Secondly, hternal friction measurements can be applied to all