Thin Cu films on manganese: aes and photoemission,by synchrotron radiation,investigations

The initial growth of Cu on polycrystalline manganese at room temperature has been investigated by Auger Spectroscopy and UV-synchrotron radiation photoemission spectroscopy, for copper coverages ranging from 1 to 18 Å. By monitoring the changes of the Cu3d level, a strong intermixing at the interface has been observed. The simultaneous growth of a copper phase which is lying on top of the intermixed region has also been detected. Analysis of the Auger data indicates that copper is most probably growing in a layer-by-layer mode, with a simultaneous diffusion into the substrate. Calculations for a layer-by-layer growth model are compared with the experimental data. They support our analysis.