Eur. Phys. J. B 18, 535-540 (2000)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s100510070043

Optical transmittance spectroscopy of concentric-shell fullerenes layers produced by carbon ion implantation

¹ Laboratoire de Métallurgie Physique (UMR 6630 CNRS) , Université de Poitiers, SP2MI, Téléport 2, boulevard Pierre et Marie Curie, BP 30179, 86962 Futuroscope Cedex, France
² Département de Physique, Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix, 61 Rue de Bruxelles, 5000 Namur, Belgium

Corresponding author: ^a Thierry.Cabioch@lmp.univ-poitiers.fr

Received: 13 July 2000
Published online: 15 December 2000

Abstract

Concentric-shell fullerenes, also called carbon onions, produced by carbon ion implantation into silver thin films, and subsequently deposited on a silica substrate, were studied by optical transmission spectroscopy in the wavelength range 0.2 -1.2 μm. In this interval, the strongest absorption is due to the π-plasmon of sp²-like carbon. The position of the plasmon absorption band clearly evolved from 265 nm at low fluence to 230 nm at high implantation fluences. A simulation of the optical spectra based on dielectric models of the concentric-shell fullerenes layer allowed us to identify the first peak as due to disordered graphite and the latter to the carbon onions. The concentration of residual graphite and the filling fraction of the carbon onions produced at high fluences could be estimated by fitting the optical spectra with computed transmittance curves.