Electrostatic measurement of plasma plume characteristics in pulsed laser evaporated carbon

A triple Langmuir probe measurement was used to investigate plasma plume character in low fluence pulsed laser evaporation (PLE) discharges in diamond-like carbon film deposition. Initial findings from combined ion probe, visible spectroscopy, and film analysis is presented to provide a more detailed description of plasma plume characteristics and the relationship to film properties. Analytic modeling of the ion current in the supersonic plume allows an estimate of the ion number density throughout the plume.