Ion beam modification of tetrahedral amorphous carbon: the effect of irradiation temperature

Abstract

The response of tetrahedral amorphous carbon to irradiation with 200 keV Xe+ ion irradiation at various temperatures is reported. The structure of the tetrahedral amorphous carbon following ion irradiation is monitored in-situ by electrical resistance measurements, and ex-situ by Raman spectroscopy, electron energy loss spectroscopy and electron diffraction. It is found that the irradiation temperature strongly influences the final state of the ion irradiated tetrahedral amorphous carbon. For irradiation at room temperature and below, the ion beam transforms the material into a conducting amorphous carbon with an sp2 fraction of about 0.6. The effect of elevated irradiation temperatures is t..