Synthesis of composites with alternating layers of poly(vinyl chloride) and single-wall carbon nanotubes homogeneously dispersed in carboxymethyl cellulose

For preparation of water-resistant and thermally stable nonlinear optical elements containing single-wall carbon nanotubes, an original method for the formation of layered structures based on alternating layers of poly(vinyl chloride) and a water-soluble polymer (carboxymethyl cellulose) with dispersed singlewall carbon nanotubes is proposed. An analysis of the optical properties of the resulting composites by means of optical-absorption spectroscopy and Raman scattering makes it possible to confirm that the nanocomposites contain individual (not united in bundles) single-wall carbon nanotubes.     

Fabrication of graphene nanostructures by probe nanoablation

We present the results of the study of graphene nanoablation under mechanical stress of an ultrasharp (the rounding radius is ～2 nm) tip of a scanning probe microscope (SPM)). It was found that the SPM probe contact with graphene results in average removal of 7 · 10^?3?5 · 10^?2 nm of film per scan, i.e., only a few carbon atoms or clusters, in the impact area. The capability of this precision nanoablation process was shown in developing graphene nanoislands and nanoribbons ～1 µm long and ～10 nm wide.     

Formation of antireflective surface structures on diamond films by laser patterning

Received: 29 September 1998/Accepted: 1 October 1998     

Laser ablation and micropatterning of thin TiN coatings

Laser ablation of thin TiN films deposited on steel substrates has been studied under wide-range variation of irradiation conditions (pulsewidth, wavelength, energy density and spot size). It has been demonstrated that both picosecond (150–300 ps) and nanosecond (5–9 ns) laser pulses were suitable for controllable ablation and microstructuring of a 1-μm-thick TiN film unlike longer 150-ns pulses. The ablation rate was found to be practically independent of the wavelength (270–1078 nm) and pulsewidth (150 ps–9 ns), but it increased substantially when the size of a laser spot was reduced from 15–60 μm to 3 μm. The laser ablation technique was applied to produce microstructures in the thin TiN films consisting of microcraters with a typical size of 3–5 μm in diameter and depth less than 1 μm. Tests of lubricated sliding of the laser-structured TiN films against a steel ball showed that the durability of lubricated sliding increased by 25% as compared to that of the original TiN film. Received: 28 July 1999 / Accepted: 17 April 2000 / Published online: 20 September 2000