Pulsed laser deposition of amorphous diamond-like carbon films with ArF (193 nm) excimer laser

Abstract : We have deposited hydrogen-free diamond-like amorphous carbon (amorphous diamond) films by ArF (193 nm) pulsed laser ablation of graphite. The deposition process is performed with the laser power density of only 5x10(8) W/cm2 at room temperature without any auxiliary energy source incorporation. The resulting films possess remarkable physical, optical and mechanical properties which are close to those of diamond and distinct from the graphite target used. The films have a mechanical hardness up to 38 GPa, an optical energy band gap of 2.6 eV and excellent thermal stability. Analysis of electron energy loss spectroscopy reveals the domination of diamond-type tetrahedral bonding structure in the films with the Sp3 bond fraction over 95%. Compared to other reported results of pulsed laser deposited diamond-like carbon films, our experimental results confirm that the laser wavelength or photon energy plays a crucial role in controlling the properties of the pulsed laser deposited diamond-like carbon films.

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