Glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy – a powerful tool for the study of compositional non-uniformity in electrodeposited films

Abstract The potential of glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy for the analysis of thin films on metals is examined using the example of electrodeposited Ni–P, about 0.53 μm thick. The glow discharge optical emission spectroscopy depth profiles reveal layering of the deposited material with a good correlation between the sequence of layers in the composition profile and that observed by transmission electron microscopy.