Highly oriented poly crystalline graphite (HOPG), boron-doped diamond (BDD), nanocrystalline diamond (NCD), ultra-nano-crystalline diamond (uNCD), fullerenes C60 and C70 and Diamond Like Carbon (DLC) surfaces are exposed to low pressure hydrogen plasma in a 13.56 MHz plasma reactor. Relative yields of surface produced Hions due to bombardment of positive ions from the plasma are measured by an energy analyzer cum quadrupole mass spectrometer. Irrespective of plasma conditions (0.2 and 2 Pa), HOPG surfaces show the highest yield at room temperature (RT), while at high temperature (HT), the highest yield (~ 5 times compared to HOPG surface at room temperature) is observed on BDD surfaces. The shapes of ion distribution functions (IDFs) are compared at RT and HT to demonstrate the mechanism of ion generation at the surface. Raman spectroscopy analyses of the plasma exposed samples reveal surface modifications influencing Hproduction yields, while further analyses strongly suggest that the hydrogen content of the material and the sp3/sp2 ratio are the key parameters in driving surface ionization efficiency of carbon materials under the chosen plasma conditions.

Negative ions in low-pressure plasma sources are created either in the plasma volume by dissociative attachment or, at the plasma surface interaction due to surface ionization of backscattered or sputtered particles. Negative-ions formed on surfaces are accelerated towards the plasma by the sheath. They can influence the plasma kinetics through collisions with plasma species, or are self-extracted from the plasma thanks to the energy acquired in the sheath. Self-extraction of negative-ions can affect processes like sputtering, where the negative-ions formed on the cathode bombard the layer being deposited. In applications such as negative-ion sources for accelerator or fusion devices, it is taken advantage of negative-ion surface production. A low work-function material (usually caesium-covered metals) is in contact with the plasma and greatly enhances negative-ion production because of the low energy required to extract an electron from the surface. However, caesium free negative-ion sources would be greatly valuable for fusion applications because of the strong maintenance constraints induced by caesium injection.

Defect characterization in 1.2 MeV Ar8+ irradiated polycrystalline ZnO has been carried out by x-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) along with electrical resistivity, and photoluminescence (PL) measurements at room temperature (RT). Interestingly, irradiation with the initial fluence (1×1015 ions/cm2) changes the color of the sample from white to orange while the highest irradiation fluence (5×1016 ions/cm2) makes it dark reddish brown that appears as black. XRD study reveals no significant change in the average grain size of the samples with irradiation fluence. Increase in surface roughness due to sputtering is clearly visible in SEM with highest fluence of irradiation. RT PL spectrum of the unirradiated sample shows intense ultraviolet (UV) emission (∼3.27 eV) and less prominent defect level emissions (2–3 eV). The overall emission is largely quenched due to initial irradiation fluence. Increasing the fluence of Ar beam further, UV emission is enhanced along with prominent defect level emissions. Remarkably, the resistivity of the irradiated sample with highest fluence is reduced by four orders of magnitude compared to that of the unirradiated sample. This is due to an increase in donor concentration as well as their mobility induced by high fluence of irradiation. Change in color in the irradiated samples indicates dominant presence of oxygen vacancies. It is now well known that oxygen vacancies are deep donors in ZnO. So oxygen vacancies, in principle, are not the source of conductivity in ZnO at RT. Simultaneous evolution of coloration and conductivity in ZnO, as is seen in this study, indicate that oxygen vacancies strongly influence the stability of shallow donors, presumably zinc interstitial related (highly mobile Zn interstitials also need to form defect pair/complex to be stable), which act as major source of carriers. Such a contention is in conformity with most recent theoretical calculations.

Boron-doped polycrystalline diamond (BDD) and highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surfaces were exposed to low pressure hydrogen plasma. The relative yields of surface-produced H− ions were measured by an energy analyser quadrupole mass spectrometer. The highest H− yield was obtained at 400 °C for a BDD surface and at room temperature for an HOPG surface. At low ion bombardment energy, the maximum yield on a BDD surface is about 5 times higher than that on an HOPG surface, which has been the best carbon material so far for surface production of H− ions in caesium-free plasma. Raman measurements revealed surface modifications after plasma exposure.

Thin films of undoped and In-doped zinc oxide, prepared using chemical spray pyrolysis, were investigated using x-ray diffraction, optical transmission and absorption spectra, SEM, resistivity measurements, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and photoluminescence studies. A doping level of 1 at% indium was found to give lowest resistive films and enhanced optical transmission. But increasing the doping percentage resulted in lower optical transmission. XPS investigations revealed the presence of elemental chlorine in the In-doped film. Undoped ZnO thin films gave a strong blue-green emission. Doping with indium apparently resulted in a competitive phenomenon that overshadows the blue-green emission and gave rise to three emissions at 408, 590 and 688 nm.