Methods for manufacturing or strengthening carbon-containing glass materials

A method of forming a carbon-containing glass material, the method comprising:

• flowing a hydrocarbon gas and silane into a reactor;
• providing an additive including any one or more of lithium, nickel, manganese, copper, tri-methyl aluminum (TMA), tri-methyl gallium (TMG) or sulfur to the reactor;
• generating a non-thermal equilibrium plasma based on excitement of the hydrocarbon gas and the silane by a microwave energy, wherein the non-thermal equilibrium plasma includes a plurality of methyl radicals;
• ion-bombarding a surface-to-air interface of the carbon-containing glass material with at least the methyl radicals, the ion-bombardment configured to create an interphase region within the carbon-containing glass material;
• forming a plurality of few layer graphene (FLG) nanoplatelets within the interphase region of the carbon-containing glass material at varying concentration levels based on recombination or self-nucleation of the plurality of methyl radicals, the plurality of FLG nanoplatelets dispersed throughout the interphase region in a non-periodic orientation configured to at least partially inhibit formation or propagation of cracks and/or surface defects in the carbon-containing glass material;
• doping one or more surfaces of at least some of the FLG nanoplatelets with the additive;
• and
• intercalating the additive between adjacent graphene layers within at least some of the FLG nanoplatelets formed in the interphase region of the carbon-containing glass material.