An AES investigation of the processes of La deposition on the Si(111)
surface with one and five monolayers of preliminary adsorbed gold has
been performed. The interdiffusion and chemical interaction between th
e contacting components are observed for the La/Au(theta = 5)/Si syste
m. For La/Au(theta = 1)/Si chemical interaction at the interface does
not lead to the breaking of chemical bonds in the substrate and interd
iffusion of the contact components.