Abstract
The local modification of the electronic states of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surfaces using highly charged ion (HCI) irradiation has been demonstrated as a promising technique in the design of nanoscale materials. The high potential energy of HCI and subsequent surface treatment by either electron injection from a scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) tip or by He–Cd laser irradiation provide a localized transition from sp2 to sp3 hybridization in HOPG, resulting in the formation of nanoscale diamond-like structures (nanodiamond). It is of interest that a single impact of HCI creates one nanodiamond structure without inducing any defects in the area surrounding the impact region, suggesting potential applications of HCI in nanoscale material processing.
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