Evidence of Crystalline Diamond in Thin Films Prepared by Laser Ablation of Hard Fullerene-Based Carbon

M. E. Kozlov, P. Fons, H. -A. Durand, K. Nozaki, M. Tokumoto,
K. Yase, and N. Minami
[J. Appl. Phys., Vol., 80, pp. 1182-1185, 1996]

Thin carbon films have been prepared by ArF excimer laser ablation of hard fullerene-based carbon in vacuum. The target material was obtained from pressure-temperature treatment of C₆₀ fullerene. Micro-Raman, electron energy loss, and electron diffraction measurements of deposited films reveal distinct evidence of a small microcrystalline diamond fraction. This appears to be the observation of crystalline diamond produced by laser ablation of a nondiamond target.