Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is a metastable form of amorphous carbon with significant sp3 bonding. DLC is a semiconductor with a high mechanical hardness, chemical inertness, and optical transparency. This review will describe the deposition methods, deposition mechanisms, characterisation methods, electronic structure, gap states, defects, doping, luminescence, field emission, mechanical properties and some applications of DLCs. The films have widespread applications as protective coatings in areas, such as magnetic storage disks, optical windows and micro-electromechanical devices (MEMs).

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Diamond-like amorphous carbon

Raman spectroscopy in graphene

Raman spectroscopy has historically played an important role in the structural characterization of graphitic materials, in particular providing valuable information about defects, stacking of the graphene layers and the finite sizes of the crystallites parallel and perpendicular to the hexagonal axis Here we review the defect-induced Raman spectra of graphitic materials from both experimental and theoretical standpoints and we present recent Raman results on nanographites and graphenes The disorder-induced D and D′ Raman features, as well as the G′-band (the overtone of the D-band which is always observed in defect-free samples), are discussed in terms of the double-resonance (DR) Raman process, involving phonons within the interior of the 1st Brillouin zone of graphite and defects In this review, experimental results for the D, D′ and G′ bands obtained with different laser lines, and in samples with different crystallite sizes and different types of defects are presented and discussed We also present recent advances that made possible the development of Raman scattering as a tool for very accurate structural analysis of nano-graphite, with the establishment of an empirical formula for the in- and out-of-plane crystalline size and even fancier Raman-based information, such as for the atomic structure at graphite edges, and the identification of single versus multi-graphene layers Once established, this knowledge provides a powerful machinery to understand newer forms of sp2 carbon materials, such as the recently developed pitch-based graphitic foams Results for the calculated Raman intensity of the disorder-induced D-band in graphitic materials as a function of both the excitation laser energy (Elaser) and the in-plane size (La) of nano-graphites are presented and compared with experimental results The status of this research area is assessed, and opportunities for future work are identified

/pdf/studying-disorder-in-graphite-based-systems-by-raman-2il3km8c50.pdf

Studying Disorder in Graphite-Based Systems by Raman Spectroscopy

Raman microspectroscopy of soot and related carbonaceous materials: Spectral analysis and structural information

Diamond may be grown at low pressures where it is the metastable form of carbon. Recent advances in a wide variety of plasma and electrical discharge methods have led to dramatic increases in growth rates. All of these methods have certain aspects in common, namely, the presence of atomic hydrogen and the production of energetic carbon-containing fragments under conditions that support high mobilities on the diamond surface. Some understanding of the processes taking place during nucleation and growth of diamond has been achieved, but detailed molecular mechanisms are not yet known. Related research has led to the discovery of a new class of materials, the "diamondlike" phases. Vapor-grown diamond and diamondlike materials may have eventual applications in abrasives, tool coatings, bearing surfaces, electronics, optics, tribological surfaces, and corrosion protection.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/241/4868/913.full.pdf

Low-Pressure, Metastable Growth of Diamond and "Diamondlike" Phases

Resonant Raman spectroscopy has been used to study amorphous hydrogenated carbon films. For films containing both sp2 and sp3 bonded carbon a well‐defined high‐frequency shift of the main Raman peak is observed with increasing exciting photon energy. This shift is interpreted in terms of scattering from π‐bonded carbon clusters which is resonantly enhanced for incident photon energies approaching the π–π* resonance.

J. Wagner

Papers

Resonant Raman scattering of hydrogenated amorphous carbon: Evidence for π‐bonded carbon clusters