Repair of defects created by Ar+ sputtering on graphite surface by annealing as confirmed using ToF‐SIMS and XPS.

Defects were created on the surface of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) by sputtering with an Ar+ ion beam, then characterized using X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS) at 500°C. In the XPS C1s spectrum of the sputtered HOPG, a sp3 carbon peak appeared at 285.3 eV, representing surface defects. In addition, 2 sets of peaks, the Cx− and CxH− ion series (where x = 1, 2, 3...), were identified in the ToF‐SIMS negative ion spectrum. In the positive ion spectrum, a series of CxH2+• ions indicating defects was observed. Annealing of the sputtered samples under Ar was conducted at different temperatures. The XPS and ToF‐SIMS spectra of the sputtered HOPG after 800°C annealing were observed to be similar to the spectra of the fresh HOPG. The sp3 carbon peak had disappeared from the C1s spectrum, and the normalized intensities of the CxH− and CxH2+• ions had decreased. These results indicate that defects created by sputtering on the surface of HOPG can be repaired by high‐temperature annealing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]