▪ Abstract The synthesis of nanocrystalline diamond films from carbon-containing noble gas plasmas is described. The nanocrystallinity is the result of new growth and nucleation mechanisms, which involve the insertion of C2, carbon dimer, into carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds, resulting in hetereogeneous nucleation rates on the order 1010 cm−2 s−1. Extensive characterization studies led to the conclusion that phase-pure diamond is produced with a microstructure consisting of randomly oriented 3–15-nm crystallites. By adjusting the noble gas/hydrogen ratio in the gas mixture, a continuous transition from micro- to nanocrystallinity is achieved. Up to 10% of the total carbon in the nanocrystalline films is located at 2 to 4 atom-wide grain boundaries. Because the grain boundary carbon is π-bonded, the mechanical, electrical, and optical properties of nanocrystalline diamond are profoundly altered. Nanocrystalline diamond films are unique new materials with applications in fields as diverse as tribolo...

Nanocrystalline diamond films1

Hydrogen-terminated diamond surfaces and interfaces

Substantial developments have been achieved in the synthesis of chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond in recent years, providing engineers and designers with access to a large range of new diamond materials. CVD diamond has a number of outstanding material properties that can enable exceptional performance in applications as diverse as medical diagnostics, water treatment, radiation detection, high power electronics, consumer audio, magnetometry and novel lasers. Often the material is synthesized in planar form; however, non-planar geometries are also possible and enable a number of key applications. This paper reviews the material properties and characteristics of single crystal and polycrystalline CVD diamond, and how these can be utilized, focusing particularly on optics, electronics and electrochemistry. It also summarizes how CVD diamond can be tailored for specific applications, on the basis of the ability to synthesize a consistent and engineered high performance product.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0953-8984/21/36/364221/pdf

Chemical vapour deposition synthetic diamond: materials, technology and applications.

Oriented CVD diamond films: twin formation, structure and morphology

Chemical vapour deposition and characterization of smooth {100}-faceted diamond films

Oriented diamond nuclei prepared by bias‐enhanced microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition on β‐SiC and Si were characterized by x‐ray texture diffractometry. In both cases, x‐ray pole figures reveal an epitaxial relation between the orientation of diamond nuclei and the substrate. However, the angular spread of the nuclei orientation is rather large, amounting to 9°–13° (FWHM) in both polar and azimuthal directions. When growing thick diamond films on top of these already oriented diamond nuclei, the evolution of the orientational order depends critically on the growth conditions. In the case of 〈100〉 oriented nuclei, growth conditions which favor the formation of a 〈100〉 fiber texture can even improve the degree of orientational order, whereas other growth conditions result in a deterioration of the epitaxial relationship.

R. Kohl

Papers

Oriented CVD diamond films: twin formation, structure and morphology

Chemical vapour deposition and characterization of smooth {100}-faceted diamond films

Oriented nucleation and growth of diamond films on β-SiC and Si

Raman and X-ray studies of polycrystalline CVD diamond films

Optical reflection and angle-resolved light scattering from textured polycrystalline diamond films☆