In situ x-ray diffraction was performed while annealing thin film Au/Cu binary diffusion couples to directly observe diffusion at elevated temperatures. The temperature dependence of the interdiffusion coefficient was determined from isothermal measurements at 700, 800, and 900 degrees C, where Cu and Au form a disordered continuous face centered cubic solid solution. Large differences in the lattice parameters of Au and Cu allowed the initial diffraction peaks to be easily identified, and later tracked as they merged into one diffraction peak with increased diffusion time. Initial diffusion kinetics were studied by measuring the time required for the Cu to diffuse through the Au thin film of known thickness. The activation energy for interdiffusion was measured to be 65.4 kJ/mole during this initial stage, which is approximately 0.4 X that for bulk diffusion and 0.8 X that for grain boundary diffusion. The low activation energy is attributed to the high density of columnar grain boundaries combined with other defects in the sputter deposited thin film coatings. As interdiffusion continues, the two layers homogenize with an activation energy of 111 kJ/mole during the latter stages of diffusion. This higher activation energy falls between the reported values for grain boundary and bulk diffusion, and may be related to grain growth occurring at these temperatures which accounts for the decreasing importance of grain boundaries on diffusion. (c) 2006 American Vacuum Society.