Effect of Ar⁺ ion irradiation on the microstructure of pyrolytic carbon

Pyrolytic carbon (PyC) coatings prepared by chemical vapor deposition were irradiated by 300 keV Ar⁺ ions. Then, atomic force microscopy, synchrotron-based grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were employed to study how Ar⁺ irradiation affects the microstructure of PyC, including the microstructural damage mechanisms and physics driving these phenomena. The 300 keV Ar⁺ ion irradiation deteriorated the structure along the c-axis, which increased the interlayer spacing between graphene layers. With increasing irradiation dose, the density of defect states on the surface of PyC coating increases, and the basal planes gradually loses their initial ordering resulting in breaks in the lattice and turbulence at the peak damage dose reaches 1.58 displacement per atom (dpa). Surprisingly, the PyC becomes more textured as it becomes richer in structural defects with increasing irradiation dose