Dense plasma focus energetic ions based fullerene films on a Si(111) substrate

The highly energetic and high fluence argon ions emitted in a dense plasma focus device have been used for the first time to get fullerene films by ablating the graphite target such that the ablated material is deposited on a Si(111) substrate. These films have been studied using XRD, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), Raman spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy and SEM microscopy. The XRD, Raman and FTIR spectra show peaks corresponding to fullerenes, mainly C-60 and C-70. Moreover, prominent peaks of C-60 have been observed in XRD spectra. The TEM micrograph shows crystalline fullerene structures and the selected area diffraction (SAD) pattern shows single crystalline spot patterns exhibiting the (110) and (006) planes of the hcp C-60 clusters. The SEM micrographs also show spherical clusters of fullerenes. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.