Nickel Induced Crystallization of Carbon During Deposition

Crystallization kinetics of ion beam sputtered carbon on polycrystalline nickel thin films is investigated. The process temperature is significantly reduced in comparison to annealing of an amorphous carbon film without the aid of a transition metal. The degree of graphitization and the average grain size of the resulting films are examined by means of Raman-spectroscopy and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The chemical state of the carbon atoms is analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Additionally, nuclear reaction analysis confirms the temperature independence of the carbon absorption on the nickel surface. We believe that the process holds a potential for the synthesis of crystalline thin films or single layers of different 2D nanomaterials.