Abstract
The structural and chemical characteristics of thin films of noble metals (Au, Pt and Pd) deposited on mica were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Auger electron spectroscopy (AES). The layer-by-layer AES analysis has revealed the contamination of film surfaces with sulfur and preferentially with carbon decreasing inside the film with the distance from the surface. The investigations of cross sections of film/mica sandwiches have displayed the presence of oxygen which tends to diffuse into the palladium film particularly at the metal/mica region. The Pt/mica and Au/mica interfaces have exhibited potassium and traces of silicon respectively. The TEM examination has shown the polycrystalline structure of the films with preferential 〈111〉 orientation. Numerous stacking faults and lamellar twins were observed in gold films whereas in palladium films, only a few boundaries have revealed the periodically arranged dislocation contrast which indicates their special structure. The differences of the film structures were ascribed to the stacking fault energy values of the metals under investigation.
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