“Sputtered-atom assembly” of carbon nanostructures during ion bombardment

Abstract.

We report the observation of a carbon nanostructure grown on a graphite surface by Ar⁺ ion bombardment. We demonstrate experimentally that, in view of transmission electron microscopy (TEM)-based evidence, some of these carbon nanostructures emerged the whiskerlike protrusion and/or the sputtered-surface, suggesting a new growth model for nanocarbon, distinctly different from that found in arc-discharge and many other methods.