Laser deposition of amorphous diamond films from liquid aromatic hydrocarbons

Amorphous diamond films are deposited on transparent substrates upon exposu re of its interface with liquid hydrocarbons (C6H5CH3, C6H6, and C6H5CH(CH3 )(2)) to pulsed visible laser radiation of a copper vapor laser (lambda = 5 10.6 nm). The X-ray Auger electron spectroscopy (XAES), reflection high ene rgy electron diffraction (RHEED), and Raman analysis are employed to charac terize the deposited films. The sp(3) fraction in deposited films amounts t o 60%-70% and depends on the precursor. The average film thickness on a gla ss substrate is about 100 nm. The films show excellent adherence, are trans parent in the visible and have microhardness of 50-70 GPa, as measured by n anoindentor.