Pd-Cu bimetallic surfaces formed through a vacuum-deposition of Pd on Cu(111) have been discussed on the basis of carbon monoxide (CO) adsorption: CO is used as a surface probe and infrared reflection absorption (IRRAS) spectra are recorded for the CO-adsorbed surfaces. Low energy electron diffraction (LEED) patterns for the bimetallic surfaces reveal six-fold symmetry even after the deposition of 0.6 nm. The lattice spacings estimated by the separations of reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) streaks increase with increasing Pd thickness. Room-temperature CO exposures to the bimetallic surfaces formed by the Pd depositions less than 0.3 nm thickness generate the IRRAS bands due to the three-fold-hollow-, bridge- and linear-bonded CO to Pd atoms. In particular, on the 0.1 nm-thick Pd surface, the linear-bonded CO band becomes apparent at an earlier stage of the exposure. In contrast, the bridge-bonded CO band dominates the IRRAS spectra for CO adsorption on the 0.6 nm-thick Pd surface, at which the lattice spacing corresponds to that of Pd(111). A 90 K-CO exposure to the 0.1 nm-thick Pd surface leads to the IRRAS bands caused not only by CO-Pd but also by CO-Cu, while the Cu-related band is almost absent from the spectra for the 0.3 nm-thick Pd surface. The results clearly reveal that local atomic structures of the outermost bimetallic surface can be discussed by the IRRAS spectra for the probe molecule. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.