Preparation of Carbon Nanofibers by Hot-Filament-Assisted Sputtering

Crystalline carbon thin films containing carbon nanofibers were obtained using a hot-filament-assisted sputtering system. Pure argon gas was employed as the sputtering gas. The filament was made from tungsten wire and heated to 2000°C. No tungsten peak was observed in the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) spectrum. The crystal structure of the carbon thin films was investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM), transmission electron diffraction (TED) and field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) observations. The results revealed that the crystalline carbon films consisted of nanofibers. Parallel lines were observed in TED patterns. This indicated that the sample consisted of low-dimensional carbyne-like fibers in the graphite matrix.