The growth and characteristics of metal containing amorphous hydrogenated carbon thin films (a-C: H/Me) were studied in this research. The discovery and the explanation of unprecedented self-assembled, alternating nano-layered structures are addressed. a- C: H/Me thin films were synthesized using one single target, a rotating but not revolving substrate, and constant feed gas compositions in a conventional reactive sputter deposition chamber. In order to explain the formation of the distinct structures, correlations were first made among the deposition rate, the composition, the...