Growth of highly oriented graphite films at room temperature by pulsed laser deposition using carbon–sulfur targets

Carbon–sulfur films were grown by pulsed laser deposition at room temperature using different graphite–sulfur mixtures as targets. The structure of the films was characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The composition and the chemical bonds were analyzed by Rutherford-backscattering spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The films were composed of amorphous carbon with sp2-, sp3- and S–C–C–S bonds and textured graphite on the top of the film. The thin graphite layer on top of the carbon–sulfur films is highly oriented, comparable to highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, and free of sulfur in the graphite lattice. The lateral size of the oriented graphite grains in the films was up to 8 μm. Magnetic measurements reveal that the films prepared under the conditions of our study show neither magnetic ordering nor superconductivity in the studied temperature range T > 2 K.