Ion Implantation of Graphite Fibers and Filaments

Abstract

Ion implantation is an important technique for modifying material properties through the introduction of impurity atoms or the creation of lattice defects in a controlled way. The technique is important in the semiconductor industry for making p-n junctions by, for example, implanting n-type impurities into p-type host materials. From a materials science point of view, ion implantation allows essentially any element of the periodic table to be introduced into the near-surface region of essentially any host material, with quantitative control over the depth and composition profile of the impurity by proper choice of ion energy and fluence (i.e., the total number of implanted ions per unit area of sample). Furthermore an important application of ion implantation is in the synthesis of metastable alloys which could not be produced by other means.