CHARACTERIZATION AND GROWTH OF CARBON PHASES SYNTHESIZED BY HIGH-TEMPERATURE CARBON ION-IMPLANTATION INTO COPPER

In the early 1990s, a new process using high dose carbon-ion implantat ion into hot copper substrates was proposed to synthesize heteroepitax ial diamond thin films onto copper. In order to determine the paramete r that controls diamond formation, we have performed the same kind of experiments, varying systematically implantation parameters. Whatever the experimental conditions are, we have characterized a uniform (0001 )-oriented graphite layer and carbon onions onto the implanted copper substrate but never diamond. We propose a growth mechanism for the dif ferent carbon phases based on copper preferential sputtering, carbon d iffusion and discharge phenomena. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.