Nonconventional Conversion Process Ion Irradiation

In the experimental eonditions adopted in these studies, the irradiating ions penetrate through the entire thickness of the film, and stop into the substrate. 

6 Polymer to Ceramic Transformation Processing of Ceramic Bodies and Thin Films 

The carbon clusters afford some interesting optical properties to the SiOC and Sic films [79], but are also responsible for the high hardness measured on irradiated films (see Table 4), This is at least two times larger than that of eonventionally annealed specimens, mainly because of the previously mentioned diamond-like nature of the C precipitates in the amorphous SiOC or SiC ceramic matrix of irradiated specimens. The effect depends on the type of irradiating ion, but also on the nature of the side groups of the polymeric chain (CH3 vs. C6H5) [59,60]. The annealing of irradiated films does not seem to affect much their hardness. 

---