Characterization of graphite implanted with chlorine ions using combined Raman microspectrometry and transmission electron microscopy on thin sections prepared by focused ion beam Original Research Article

Graphite was modified by 250 keV 37Cl+ ion implantation. Combined Raman microspectrometry/transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies have been used to characterize the multiscale organization of the graphite structure. The penetration depth of 37Cl+ into the graphite sample was limited to the surface (∼200 nm) because of the dissipation of the irradiating ion energy as expected by secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis. Raman microspectrometry appears to be an appropriate tool for studying such scales. Spectra showed a strong increase of defect bands after implantation at a fluence of 5 · 1013 ions/cm2. In order to examine the structural degradation of the graphite versus the depth at the nanometer scale, the focused ion beam technique seems to be a well-suited method for a relevant coupling of Raman and TEM observations.