Carbon films with an sp2 network structure

I. Alexandrou, H.-J. Scheibe, C. J. Kiely, A. J. Papworth, G. A. J. Amaratunga, and B. Schultrich
Phys. Rev. B 60, 10903 – Published 15 October 1999
PDFExport Citation

Abstract

Laser-arc evaporation of a graphite target has been used to deposit carbon films that exhibit high hardness (45 GPa) and elastic recovery (85%). High-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) were subsequently used to study the microstructure and bonding of the resultant layers. The structure of the films from HREM is seen to consist of a dense array of parallel curved graphene sheet segments packed in various orientations. EELS reveals that the films are comprised of mainly sp2-bonded carbon. The results suggest that a form of carbon thin film with fullerenelike structure can be realized. In order to explain how a predominantly sp2-bonded material can exhibit such a high hardness, a simple model is proposed to correlate the excellent mechanical properties with the observed structure.

  • Received 4 February 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.60.10903

©1999 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

I. Alexandrou

  • Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, United Kingdom

H.-J. Scheibe

  • Fraunhofer Institute of Material and Beam Technology, D-01277 Dresden, Germany

C. J. Kiely

  • Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, United Kingdom

A. J. Papworth

  • Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, and Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3BX, United Kingdom

G. A. J. Amaratunga

  • Department of Engineering, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, United Kingdom

B. Schultrich

  • Fraunhofer Institute of Material and Beam Technology, D-01277 Dresden, Germany

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 60, Iss. 15 — 15 October 1999

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review B

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×