Electron energy loss spectroscopy of diamond-like carbon thin films

Carbon thin films with diamond-like properties have generated significant interest in condensed matter science in recent years. Their extreme hardness combined with insulating electronic characteristics and high thermal conductivity make them attractive for a variety of uses including abrasion resistant coatings and applications in electronic devices. Understanding the growth and structure of such films is therefore of technological interest as well as a goal of basic physics and chemistry research. Recent investigations have demonstrated the usefulness of energetic ion beam deposition in the preparation of such films. We have begun an electron microscopy investigation into the microstructure and electron energy loss spectra of diamond like carbon thin films prepared by energetic ion beam deposition.The carbon films were deposited using the MEIRA ion beam facility at the Soreq Nuclear Research Center in Yavne, Israel. Mass selected C+ beams in the range 50 to 300 eV were directed onto Si {100} which had been etched with HF prior to deposition.