Hydrogen loss from laser-annealed amorphous hydrogenated carbon films studied by secondary-ion mass spectrometry

Abstract
Secondary-ion mass spectrometry was used to measure the amount of hydrogen retained in dense (ρ =2.4 g/cm3) amorphous hydrogenated carbon films subjected to Ar+ laser annealing in intensity range I=(1–6)×105 W/cm2. Hydrogen effusion, accelerating with laser power, is accompanied by a decrease of the film density and strengthening of the carbon skeleton that is interpreted as a transformation of the film from amorphous to a graphite-like state.