Structural evolution of nanocrystalline/amorphous Fe/Ni75B25 multilayers: temperature dependence of electrical resistivity

X-ray specular-reflectivity measurements have been carried out on nanocrystalline/amorphous Fe/Ni75B25 multilayer films which were sputter-deposited on Si substrates, to investigate the evolution of interface roughness and the correlation between structure and transport properties. A significant interface roughness correlation with increasing Fe/NiB layer repetition was observed. The investigated films indicated a temperature dependent high electrical resistivity—104 μΩ-cm at 10 K and 103 μΩ-cm at 300 K—with a semiconductor–metal transition like behavior. Selected area electron diffraction revealed the presence of crystalline bcc Fe phase and NiB in amorphous state. The structural and transport properties of the multilayers are discussed.