Epitaxial Pd films were formed on (111) Cu substrate films at room temperature under UHV conditions. The growth of these Pd films was monitored i n s i t u by Auger electron spectroscopy(AES) and studied subsequently by transmission electron microscopy(TEM). It was found that Pd grows on Cu by a layer mechanism. A measure of the line shapes of the 61 eV M M MCu and 329 eV M V V Pd derivative Auger line doublets was defined and called the R‐factor. For the Pd overgrowth and Cu substrate, the R‐factor was observed to fluctuate with increasing Pd film thickness. The average period of these fluctuations was found to be approximately one monoatomic layer. These fluctuations are interpreted as arising from the superposition of Auger electrons originating in the flat and edge regions of the bilayer film, the relative numbers of which vary cyclically as the Pd film thickens.