Properties of carbon films with high conductivity anisotropy

Carbon films with high conductivity anisotropy were obtained via sputtering a graphite target with an accelerated argon ion beam. The film structure was studied using Raman spectroscopy (combination scattering spectroscopy), transmission high-resolution electron microscopy, chemical analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and tunnel spectroscopy. We found conductivity anisotropy along and across the film chains of the order of 10⁴, which is associated with a high content of linear carbon chains with sp hybridization of bonding orbitals.