Journal of Materials Science, Vol.52, No.19, 11282-11305, 2017
Understanding heterogeneity in Genesis diamond-like carbon film using SIMS analysis of implants
An amorphous diamond-like carbon film deposited on silicon made at Sandia National Laboratory by pulsed laser deposition was one of several solar wind (SW) collectors used by the Genesis Mission (NASA Discovery Class Mission #5). The film was similar to 1 mu m thick, amorphous, anhydrous, and had a high ratio of sp(3)-sp(2) bonds (similar to 50%). For 27 months of exposure to space at the first Lagrange point, the collectors were passively irradiated with SW (H fluence similar to 2 x 10(16) ions cm(-2); He fluence similar to 8 x 10(14) ions cm(-2)). The radiation damage caused by the implanted H ions peaked at 12-14 nm below the surface of the film and that of He about 20-23 nm. To enable quantitative measurement of the SW fluences by secondary ion mass spectroscopy, minor isotopes of Mg (Mg-25 and Mg-26) were commercially implanted into flight-spare collectors at 75 keV and a fluence of 1 x 10(14) ions cm(-2). The shapes of analytical depth profiles, the rate at which the profiles were sputtered by a given beam current, and the intensity of ion yields are used to characterize the structure of the material in small areas (similar to 200 x 200 +/- 50 mu m). Data were consistent with the hypothesis that minor structural changes in the film were induced by SW exposure.