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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 17 March 2011
We have examined the structural evolution of a thin gold layer sandwiched between two polymer films using specular X-ray reflectivity. We used a depth-profiling model consisting of three independent layers, upper and bottom PS layers and an intermediate gold layer. The results show that a well-defined as-deposited Au layer of about 62 ± 3 Å breaks within 10 min of annealing at 120 °C. During the breakage of the Au film, the bottom low-Mw PS flows to fill into the void between the Au particles, causing the reduction of the bottom PS film, while the top polymer layer remains relatively constant.