Microstructural study of a C-Fe alloy synthesized by ion-beam sputtering co-deposition

A carbon-iron thin film, composition 46 at.% Fe and thickness 26 nm, was sy nthesized by ion-beam sputtering with a substrate temperature of 573 K. The microstructure of the film was characterized by transmission electron micr oscopy and small-angle x-ray scattering under grazing incidence. It consist ed of iron-rich particles, with an average in-plane diameter of 3.2 nm, uni formly dispersed in a graphite-like carbon matrix. These particles were elo ngated along the in-depth direction, that of the thin-film growth. After an nealing at 623 K for 1 h, no modification in the microstructure of the film was observed. The present study shows that the co-sputtering of graphite a nd iron performed at low temperature in comparison with the conventional ar c discharge method, is a useful synthesis method to obtain thin films of en capsulated nanoparticles which have a good thermal stability. (C) 1999 Amer ican Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(99)01006-2].