Metal copper films were coated on micrometer silicon carbide (SiC) and polymer particles with different sizes using the ultrasonic-assisted magnetron sputtering system. The surface morphology, the chemical composition and the crystallization of the SiC and the polymer particles were characterized by the field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis before and after film deposition. The experiment results indicate that the copper films were successfully coated on SiC and polymer particles. The XRD results show that the copper films have a face centred cubic structure. It was found from the FE-SEM results that film growth of copper films is a three-dimensional island growth mode. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.