Formation of an ultrathin amorphous layer at In/Pd interfaces observed by local and nonlocal techniques.

Abstract

The perturbed \ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{\gamma}-angular correlation technique has been used to study In/Pd(100) interfaces using $^{111}\mathrm{In}$ isotopes as local probes. A thin amorphous interface layer is found after In deposition at 77 K. Above 350 K, crystalline In/Pd compounds are formed starting with ${\mathrm{In}}_{3}$Pd. This sequence and especially the formation of an amorphous interface has been corroborated by studying the resistance of ultrathin In/Pd multilayers during film growth at 90 K. The previously unknown amorphous ${\mathrm{In}}_{3}$Pd phase was identified by in situ electron diffraction on vapor-quenched films.