Spatially Confined High-Temperature Blackbody Radiation from C₆₀ Films

Under green laser irradiation, intense white light emission was observed from C₆₀ films into which Si thin layers were intercalated by sputtering. The emission spectra extending from the visible to mid-infrared region fit quite well with the Planck's formula for blackbody radiation, yielding surprisingly high blackbody temperatures of 1100-2140 K. Optical micrographs, AFM, microscopic FT-IR, and microscopic Raman measurements show that the emission comes from small domains scattered over C₆₀ films that are morphologically and chemically modified to some extent by the combined effects of the sputtering process and laser irradiation.