Synthesis and characterization of <sup>11</sup>B<sub>4</sub>C containing Ni/Ti multilayers using combined neutron and X-ray reflectometry
Sjoerd Broekhuijsen, Naureen Ghafoor, Alexeï Vorobiev, Jens Birch, Fredrik Eriksson
Abstract
The performance of multilayers in optical components, such as those used in neutron scattering instruments, is crucially dependent on the achievable interface width. We have shown how the interface width of Ni/Ti multilayers can be improved using the incorporation of B 4 C to inhibit the formation of nanocrystals and limit interdiffusion and intermetallic reactions at the interfaces. A modulated ion-assistance scheme was used to prevent intermixing and roughness accumulation throughout the layer stack. In this work we investigate the incorporation of low-neutron-absorbing 11 B 4 C for Ni/Ti neutron multilayers. Combined fitting of neutron reflectivity and X-ray reflectivity measurements shows an elimination of accumulated roughness for the 11 B 4 C containing multilayers with a mean interface width of 4.5 Å, resulting in an increase in reflectivity at the first Bragg peak by a factor of 2.3 and 1.5 for neutron and X-ray measurements, respectively.