Self-supported multi-layered foils, prepared by sputter deposition, exhibited significantly different deformation behaviors, during rolling, when the as-deposited individual layer thickness was in the few tens of nm range as compared to the μm scale. The rolled μm-scale multi-layers exhibited dislocation-cell formation and large lattice rotations of the interface plane normal, whereas the nano-scale multi-layers exhibited no dislocation cell structure and insignificant rotation of the interface normal. The observed behavior, following large plastic strains, was explained in terms of dislocation deformation mechanisms that resulted in symmetrical slip in nano-scale laminates.

Dislocation Mechanisms and Symmetrical Slip in Rolled Nano-Scale Metallic Multilayers. A.Misra, J.P.Hirth, R.G.Hoagland, J.D.Embury, H.Kung: Acta Materialia, 2004, 52[8], 2387-94