Synthesis of carbon nano structures by ion irradiation

The synthesis of carbon nano structures, such as fullerenes, nano tubes, onions and diamond, by using ion irradiation, has been reviewed and the growth mechanisms of these carbon nano structures as well as their phase transitions are simply discussed. It shows that high density plasma engendered by ion irradiation plays an important role in the growing of carbon nano structures. In addition, it indicates that ion irradiation, due to its great flexibility of experimental parameters, is enormously convenient in studying the formation of all possible carbon nano structures and their phase transitions. Open questions in this field and the trend in future development are also presented