HYDROGENATED CARBON LAYERS PRODUCED BY ION-BEAM IRRADIATION OF PMMA AND POLYSTYRENE FILMS

The dissociation of the polymeric structure, which results from ion beam irradiation, leads to the formation of hydrogenated carbon layers exhibiting new optical and conducting properties at high fluence. The properties of these hydrogenated carbon layers have been compared to the properties of diamond-like carbon films prepared by plasma techniques: we discuss the modifications induced by ion beams in PMMA, which is known to be dominated by degradation, and in polystyrene, which gives rise to reticulation when exposed to conventional radiations. High energy ion beams tend to favour the formation of graphite-like phases (sp2 hybridization of carbon) in contrast to deposition techniques assisted by low energy beams which produce mostly diamond-like phases (sp3 hybridization of carbon). © 1990.