Hard amorphous carbon coatings on soft epitaxial fullerite films by fullerene beam deposition

The technique of energetic cluster impact is used to coat epitaxial fullerite films with amorphous carbon. The energetic all‐carbon beam which forms the amorphous carbon is achieved by evaporating, ionizing, and accelerating fullerene powder. Diffraction patterns obtained with a transmission electron microscope show that the lattice structure of the coated fullerite film and its epitaxial relationship to the substrate are maintained during the coating process. Raman spectra give very strong evidence that diffusion of oxygen into the fullerite film is prohibited by the coating.