Creation of pure non-crystalline diamond nanostructures via room-temperature ion irradiation and subsequent thermal annealing

Abstract

Carbon exhibits a remarkable range of structural forms, due to the availability of sp³, sp² and sp¹ chemical bonds. Contrarily to other group IV elements such as silicon and germanium, the formation of an amorphous phase based exclusively on sp³ bonds is extremely challenging due to the strongly favored formation of graphitic-like structures at room temperature and pressure. As such, the formation of a fully sp³-bonded carbon phase requires an extremely careful (and largely unexplored) definition of the pressure and temperature across the phase diagram. Here, we report on the possibility of creating full-sp³ amorphous nanostructures within the bulk crystal of diamond with room-temperature ion-beam irradiation, followed by an annealing process that does not involve the application of any external mechanical pressure. As confirmed by numerical simulations, the (previously unreported) radiation-damage-induced formation of an amorphous sp²-free phase in diamond is determined by the buildup of extremely high internal stresses from the surrounding lattice, which (in the case of nanometer-scale regions) fully prevent the graphitization process. Besides the relevance of understanding the formation of exotic carbon phases, the use of focused/collimated ion beams discloses appealing perspectives for the direct fabrication of such nanostructures in complex three-dimensional geometries.