Structural analysis of a carbon foam formed by high pulse-rate laser ablation

The ultrafast laser ablation of a carbon target in ambient Ar gas at a pressure of 1-100 Torr resulted in the formation of a low-density (2-10)×10³ g/cm³ cluster-assembled carbon nanofoam with a significant fraction of sp³-bonding and a resistivity of (1-3)×10⁹ Ωcm at room temperature, similar to that of diamond-like carbon film. In this paper we present the structural analysis of the foam based on TEM and SEM images as well as X-ray scattering data and electron energy loss spectra.