DYNAMICS OF GRAPHITE PHOTOABLATION - KINETIC-ENERGY OF THE PRECURSORSTO DIAMOND-LIKE CARBON

The mechanisms for growth of diamond-like carbon by pulsed laser depos ition have been investigated. Two distinct but related issues have bee n addressed: (1) the nature and speed of the particles ejected from gr aphite by pulsed UV laser irradiation and (2) the extent to which the kinetic energy of the ablated particles determines the character of th e resultant films. The results indicate that C3+ and C-3(0) are the pr edominant ion and neutral particles ejected from graphite by 248 nm la ser radiation. These particles are ablated from graphite with mean kin etic energies of 18 and 0.25 eV, respectively. Carbon films were grown in the presence of various collision gases in order to decrease the e nergy of the ablated particles. Kinetic energy of the particles was fo und to play a significant role in the generation of diamond-like films .