Electron beam activated plasma chemical vapour deposition of polycrystalline diamond films

Abstract

Polycrystalline diamond films (1 to 10 μm grain diameter) are successfully deposited by electron beam activated chemical vapour deposition technique using glow discharge/plasma generated electron beam from 3 to 4 vol% CH₃COCH₃ in H₂. The growth rates of film depositions are 4 μm/h at 533 Pa pressure and at relatively low substrate (silicon) temperatures (550 to 600°C). Crystallinity, morphology, and quality of the diamond films are studied by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and laser Raman spectroscopy techniques, respectively. The use of electron bombardment in the presence of H and OH plays a dominant role for etching the non-diamond component in the film and facilitating the growth of a stable phase of tetrahedrally coordinated carbon (diamond) films at lower temperatures.