Stress analysis of W, WSi₂, Si single layers and W/Si, WSi₂/Si multilayers fabricated by magnetron sputtering

A series of W,WSi2,Si thin films and W/Si,WSi2/Si periodic multilayers were fabricated by using DC magnetron sputtering technology.Surface profiles before and after deposition were measured with a stylus profiler and the stresses were calculated.The results indicate that W thin films show relatively large compressive stress,while W/Si multilayers show tensile stress.Both WSi2 thin films and WSi2/Si periodic multilayers show compressive stress.WSi2/Si periodic multilayers have the most stable stress state with no sharp change,and is a good material combination for X-ray multilayer optics with a large number of bilayers.