Inversion kinetics for Kr-Xe bilayers on palladium

The thermally activated inversion of Kr-Xe bilayers on Pd is studied with the use of photoemission and photon-excited Auger spectroscopy. Bilayers formed by the deposit of a monolayer or less of Xe on top of a monolayer of Kr on Pd at 49 K are shown to invert when the temperature is raised, with Xe coming in direct contact with the substrate. For a Pd(111) substrate the activation energy of this inversion process is determined: Ea=0.120.03 eV. © 1982 The American Physical Society.