Nanostructured copper/hydrogenated amorphous carbon (Cu/a-C:H) multilayer films have been deposited in a low base vacuum system (base pressure 1x10-3 Torr) and studied for their mechanical properties. The analysis shows very low residual stress (below 1 GPa), moderate nanohardness (H) and elastic modulus (E) of the resultant films. Further these films have been studied for their plastic deformation energy and elastic recovery. Atomic force microscopic analysis reveals the nanostructured morphology and low surface roughnesses of the resultant films. Estimated roughnesses values have also been correlated with the experimental measured H values. The presence of Cu in these structures have been confirmed by time of flight-secondary ion mass spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis.
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