Synthesis of carbon films with controlled nanostructure by separation of neutral clusters in supersonic beams

Nanostructured carbon thin films have been grown by deposition of cluster beams produced in supersonic expansion. Due to separation effects consisting of an enrichment of heavy clusters in the central portion of the supersonic beam and of light clusters in the peripheral one, films with different nanostructures can be grown by simply intercepting with a substrate different regions of the cluster beam. Raman spectroscopy confirms that the films deposited with different beam portions have different nanostructures ranging from disordered graphitic (fullerene-like precursors) to amorphous, with the presence of sp coordination.