article · Applied Physics Letters
Nanodiamond composite films, composed of nanoscale diamond grains embedded within an amorphous carbon matrix, are typically challenging to analyse using standard Raman spectroscopy due to intense signal competition from the matrix. By combining far-field and near-field Raman techniques on films deposited via coaxial arc plasma, structural details can be uncovered with greater precision. Standard far-field measurements in visible and ultraviolet ranges require band fitting and peak-decomposition procedures to distinguish the diamond and amorphous carbon components. In contrast, tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy offers high near-field optical resolution, producing sharper, distinct peaks without requiring peak decomposition. This high spatial resolution probes fewer grains at a time, reliably identifying embedded diamond nanocrystals. Furthermore, the profile and position of the diamond peak enable direct estimation of nanocrystal size, establishing tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy as an effective non-destructive characterisation technique for these composite materials.
Understanding the nanoscale distribution and sizing of diamond particles in composite films is vital for developing high-performance carbon coatings. Conventional methods often yield broad, averaged signals that obscure local structural details. Demonstrating that tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy non-destructively evaluates individual grains provides materials scientists with a clearer, more precise diagnostic method to evaluate composite quality and structural consistency.
This characterisation approach serves materials engineers and quality assurance teams developing or testing nanodiamond composite coatings produced by coaxial arc plasma deposition. By offering non-destructive, high-resolution verification of grain size and composition without complex post-processing, it aids process optimisation. As an analytical methodology tested on laboratory films, it remains at an early diagnostic research stage rather than functioning as an off-the-shelf industrial quality control tool.
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Raman spectroscopic studies on nanodiamond composite (NDC) films, comprising nano-sized diamond grains and an amorphous carbon (a-C) matrix, deposited by coaxial arc plasma deposition are challenging because the scattering of the nano-sized diamond grains competes with the strong signal of the a-C matrix. To unravel the nanocomposite structure of NDC films, both far- and near-field Raman spectroscopy were employed. Based on the comparison of visible and ultraviolet far-field Raman data, component spectra based on either nanodiamond or a-C were estimated by a peak-decomposition procedure based on band fitting. Near-field optical resolution achieved via tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy reveals sharper peaks of both the nanodiamond and the amorphous carbon than the far-field spectra. Consequently, the peak-decomposition procedure is not required, which evidently indicates the effective detection of nanodiamond grains embedded in a-C matrices and is a direct result of the high spatial resolution that limits the number of probed grains. The size of the nanocrystals could additionally be estimated from the profile and position of a diamond peak. This work demonstrates that tip-enhanced Raman spectroscopy is a powerful nondestructive method for nanodiamond composite films, which allows direct access to parameters hitherto only available via average data.
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DOI: 10.1063/1.5142198
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