The structure and properties of thin amorphous carbon films are critically dependent upon the preparation conditions. Hydrogenated amorphous carbon films, prepared by both ion beam sputtering and glow discharge techniques, have been investigated by solid-state 13C magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance measurements of the sp2 and sp3 bonding sites. Film hardness and density correlate with the incorporated hydrogen, whereas the optical band gap is controlled by the fraction of tetrahedral (sp3) versus graphitic (sp2) bonding. It is shown that structural trade-offs prevent the formation of so-called amorphous diamond, i.e., a material with simultaneous extreme hardness and wide optical band gap.

The electrical conductivity of diamond thin films produced by the hot-filament technique is found to increase when diborane is incorporated in the precursor gas mixture. The combination of well-defined bulk conductivity measurements with quantitative secondary-ion mass spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy shows that the conductivity increase is associated with atomic boron doping and rules out any significant role for a graphitic-type component.

This paper reports the observation of bipolar, space-charge-perturbed transport in colloidal dispersions using an experimental technique that time-resolves electrophoresis in nonpolar colloidal systems. Unlike existing methods for studying electrophoresis, this technique can be applied to dispersions of diverse types and concentrations over a wide range of electric fields, including the space-charge-perturbed conditions often encountered in practical applications. The phenomenon is investigated as a special case of dielectric relaxation in a leaky capacitor connected in series to a perfect one. Using the first principle charge transport theory, such dielectric relaxation, occurring under the non-Ohmic supply and space-charge-perturbed transport conditions, is shown to differ from that expected by the conventional equivalent-circuit treatment. The combined theoretical analysis and the experimental technique provides a means for independently determining the densities and mobilities of charged species in such systems. Using a liquid developer for electrography as a prototype system, results are presented that illustrate the power of the technique as a new tool to provide new insights into the generic transport and generation mechanisms of charged species in colloidal systems.

The important role atomic hydrogen plays in the low-temperature and pressure deposition of diamond has renewed interest in the dissociation processes of hydrogen. Following a method originally developed by Langmuir and co-workers, the voltage-current characteristics of refractory filaments in vacuum and reduced-pressure gaseous environments are analyzed. Using hydrogen, deuterium, and helium, it is concluded that the difference in the power consumption by the filament in hydrogen and in vacuum is a good measure for the rate of hydrogen dissociation. This rate is shown by experiments and mathematical modeling to depend on the geometry of the refractory heater element. Relatively high dissociation rates, normalized per heater area, are obtained for small-diameter wires, and it is argued that this is indicative of a nonequilibrium dissociation process.

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