ION AND LASER-INDUCED MODIFICATION OF OPTICAL AND STRUCTURAL-PROPERTIES OF I-CARBON FILMS

i-Carbon films were prepared by ion beam sputter deposition, a dual-be am method and direct ion beam deposition in order to investigate the e ffects of ions of specific energy on the optical properties of these f ilms. With increasing ion bombardment the refractive index decreases, and the films become remarkably less absorbent in the visible and near -IR spectral region. Irradiation of as-deposited and growing i-C films with laser pulses of wavelengths 1.06 mu m, 308 nm and 248 nm and nan osecond duration results in the formation of various metastable carbon phases. In particular laser modification of these films during the gr owth process using UV wavelengths leads to the formation of crystallit es within the films which have a cubic structure according to transmis sion electron diffraction analysis.