Abstract: There is described a carbon material comprising sp2 and sp3 hybridised carbon. Also described is a method of making a carbon material the method comprising: exposing a substrate to a flux of at least 1011 carbon ions per cm2 of substrate per 1 ms, a majority of the carbon ions having a kinetic energy of at least 10 eV. Further, electrodes comprising the carbon material are described. The electrodes may operate as an anode in Li ion battery characterised with improved specific capacity and operation life-time.

Abstract: A virtual cathode deposition apparatus utilises virtual plasma cathode for generation of high density electron beam to ablate a solid target. A high voltage electrical pulse ionizes gas to produce a plasma which temporarily appears in front of the target and serves as the virtual plasma cathode at the vicinity of target. This plasma then disappears allowing the ablated target material in a form of a plasma plume to propagate toward the substrate. Several virtual cathodes operating in parallel provide plumes that merge into a uniform plasma which when condensing on a nearby substrate leads to wide area deposition of a uniform thickness thin film.