Formation Monocrystalline Carbon Micro-and Nanostructures under Femtosecond Laser Irradiation of Graphite in Liquid Nitrogen

The combination of high energy and ultra short duration of femtosecond laser pulses allow to reach in the area of impact the local conditions which can change the phase composition of irradiated material. Traditional methods of structural phase transformation of the graphite at high pressures do not provide the abrupt simultaneous cancellation of the applied pressure and temperature. As a result, some of the synthesized nanostructures and metastable forms of carbon are destroyed. The suggested method allows to eliminate this disadvantage. Femtosecond laser radiation provides ultrafast heating of the target material, and the use of liquid nitrogen dramatically accelerates the process of it cooling. The formation of new carbon micro- and nanostructures has been registered at experimental approbation of the proposed method. The check of elemental composition of the created crystals showed that they are formed solely of carbon. The experimental results show the possibility of creation of new (less studied) carbon forms with a variety of properties.