STRUCTURE AND OPTICAL-PROPERTIES OF AMORPHOUS DIAMOND FILMS PREPARED BY ARF LASER-ABLATION AS A FUNCTION OF CARBON ION KINETIC-ENERGY

Amorphous carbon films with variable sp(3) content were produced by Ar F (193 nm) pulsed laser deposition. Electron energy loss spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry were employed to systematically study c hanges in the bonding and optical properties of the carbon films as a function of the kinetic energy of ablated C ions, which was measured u sing an ion probe. The measurements reveal that the films with the mos t diamond-like properties are obtained at the C ion kinetic energy of similar to 90 eV. In contrast to measurements made as a function of la ser fluence, ion probe measurements of kinetic energy are a convenient as well as more accurate and fundamental method for monitoring deposi tion conditions, with the advantage of being readily transferable for interlaboratory comparisons. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [ S0003-6951(98)03044].