Due to deposition process, thin films are subjected to high compressive stresses that may induce delamination and the buckling at the film/substrate interface. Various buckle morphologies can be observed such as straight sided or circular buckles. This buckling phenomenon has been extensively studied by the past, especially in the framework of elasticity mechanical equilibrium of plates by Föppl–von Kármán equations.

In this work, we present buckling structures experimentally observed by optical and atomic force microscopy on gold thin films, known for its ductile character. Two types of buckles have been observed on gold thin films, straight buckles induced by immerging the sample in water, and spontaneous circular buckles appearing along time. In straight buckles case, the elastic equations can describe the experimental buckles by a sinusoidal profile with a height determined by the film internal strain. The approach underestimates their height measured, showing plasticity phenomenon occurring during the formation of the buckles. The signature of plasticity can also be observed on spontaneous circular buckled where complex shapes can be found. Various morphologies have been studied on metallic thin films in the circular buckles case and plasticity occurs at the edge of circular buckle during its formation. We can observe the expansion of the buckle with the lines left by the plasticized edges of the previous buckle. In each case, straight and circular buckles, we study the plasticity and compare the experimental profiles measured by atomic force microscope with the elastic equations.