Formation of Polymerized Thin Films during Laser Assisted Molecular Beam Deposition of Cu and Acetylene/ Acetone

Micrometer thick polymeric films containing embedded copper nanoparticles have been generated via laser assisted molecular beam deposition. A gaseous mixture of acetylene/acetone is expanded supersonically into the plasma plume of a laser-ablated copper target and then directed toward a substrate. It is found that the formation of the resulting black polymeric film is not simply due to thermal effects of the plasma but is catalyzed by the presence of the copper clusters.