Mn, Pt and Pd were incorporated in a silica gel during the preparation of the sol. Doped silica thin films were obtained by heat treatment at 450C in a nitrogen atmosphere and studied by XPS and AFM.
From the XPS and AFM data it was found that Mn was uniformly distributed through the film. As we moved away from the outer surface to the bulk we could see that the fraction of unoxidized manganese increased. Judging by the above data, the fraction of unoxidized manganese increased with depth. Pt and Pd mainly concentrate in the subsurface layers both as oxides and pure metals. The differences in the O1s- and Si2p-spectra can be attributed to the structural variations in the Si-O bond length and the Si-O-Si bond angle that occur in the films.
According to the AFM investigations of the Pt- and Pd- doped films inclusions 600x600 nm form there. In Mn-doped films a pronounced polymeric structure with "coils" of different sizes form. Changes in the film surfaces structure in the process of the AFM scanning imply larger strength of the manganese doped films in comparison with the platinum- and palladium-doped films.
Based on the XPS and AFM results a conclusion was drawn on the relationship between the physical-chemical structure of the investigated films and the peculiarities of their surface morphology and properties.

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