Ion Beam Induced Surface Modification of ta-C Thin Films
M. Berova a, M. Sandulov a, T. Tsvetkovaa, S. Kitova b, L. Bischoff c and R. Boettger c
aInstitute of Solid State Physics, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 72 Tzarigradsko Chaussee, 1784 Sofia, Bulgaria
bInstitute of Optical Materials and Technologies, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 109 Acad. G. Bontchev Str., 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria
cInstitute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, P.O.B. 51 01 19, 01314 Dresden, Germany
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Thin film samples (d≈40 nm) of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C), deposited by filtered cathodic vacuum arc, were implanted with Ga+ at ion energy E = 20 keV and ion fluences D=3×1014 - 3×1015 cm-2 and N+ with the same energy and ion fluence D=3×1014 cm-2. The Ga+ ion beam induced surface structural modification of the implanted material, displayed by formation of new phase at non-equilibrium condition, which could be accompanied by considerable changes in the optical properties of the ta-C films. The N+ implantation also results in modification of the surface structure. The induced structural modification of the implanted material results in a considerable change of its topography and optical properties. Nanoscale topography and structural properties characterisation of the Ga+ and N+ implanted films were performed using atomic spectroscopy analysis. The observed considerable surface structural properties modification in the case of the higher fluence Ga+ implanted samples results from the relatively high concentration of introduced Ga+ atoms, which is of the order of those for the host element.

DOI: 10.12693/APhysPolA.132.299
topics: carbon, ion implantation, atomic force microscopy