Topography and nanomechanical properties of Pd-C films

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) topographical studies and results of nanoindentation experiment for several palladium-carbon films (Pd-C film) deposited on various substrates and with varying palladium content are presented. Pd-C films were prepared by a physical vapor decomposition (PVD) process and next were modified by a chemical vapor decomposition (CVD) method to obtain carbonaceous porous structure with dispersed palladium nanograins and a variation in roughness.

The dependence of film topography on the kind of substrate such as Al2O3, Mo polycrystalline foil and fused silica was studied by AFM. Nanomechanical properties such as hardness and the reduced indentation modulus were determined by nanoindentation. A comparison of these values for films with different Pd content deposited on various substrates is presented.