Elaboration and characterization of Cu/Co multilayered nanowires

Multilayered Cu/Co nanowires were elaborated by a low cost electrochemical technique consisting in reducing alternatively the Cu2+ and Co2+ ions, through a porous commercial anodic aluminum oxide template, onto a conductive substrate. The deposition parameters were determined from current-potential curves. The structure of the nanowires was characterized down to the atomic scale by transmission electron microscopy and atom probe tomography. The results show that the multilayers are polycrystallized with a nanometric grain size. The Cu layers are almost pure, while the Co ones consist in a Co-rich alloy with about 12 to 15% Cu.