Optical properties of plastically deformed copper: an ellipsometric study

Abstract

In this paper the results of optical properties investigations on plastically deformed copper are presented. The optical properties of the plastically deformed copper were studied using spectroscopic ellipsometry in the ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) range. Chemically pure copper was deformed by applying the Equal Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP) technique. During the last decade, equal-channel angular pressing procedure was used for the fabrication of ultrafine-grained metals and alloys. The plastic deformation of metallic materials leads to the production of bulk nano-scale structures with ultrafine grains and cross-sections, which remain about equal before and after deformation. The parameters of the sample were calculated using a two-film model together with the Bruggeman effective medium approximation.