Metallic multilayers at the nanoscale

The development of multilayer structures has been driven by a wide range of commercial applications requiring enhanced material behaviors. Innovations in physical vapor deposition technologies, in particular magnetron sputtering, have enabled the synthesis of metallic-based structures with nanoscaled layer dimensions as small as one-to-two monolayers. Deposition process parameters effect the formation and stability of these small layer dimensions. Synthesis and characterization techniques will be reviewed which emphasize experimental studies of mechanical properties in metallic multilayers at the nanoscale.