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 sp3 content were produced by ArF (193 nm) pulsed laser deposition. Electron energy loss spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry were employed to systematically study changes in the bonding and optical properties of the carbon films as a function of the kinetic energy of ablated C ions, which was measured using an ion probe. The measurements reveal that the films with the most diamond-like properties are obtained at the C ion kinetic energy of ∼90 eV. In contrast to measurements made as a function of laser fluence, ion probe measurements of kinetic energy are a convenient as well as more accurate and fundamental method for monitoring deposition conditions, with the advantage of being readily transferable for interlaboratory comparisons.