A comprehensive study of simultaneous RF-PECVD synthesis of n-diamond and carbon nanowalls hybrid structure over a large area

Abstract

In this study, n-diamond–carbon nanowalls hybrid structure was synthesized on a 4-inch diameter silicon wafer by RF-PECVD technique (type CCP). A comprehensive analysis of the structure was carried out at the beginning of growth and after a long period of synthesis using electron microscopy, transmission microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques. As the analysis showed, feeding carbon monoxide (CO) to a gas mixture of methane (CH4), argon (Ar), and hydrogen (H2) induces the formation of n-diamond particles in a basal layer. By using plasma-enhanced etching in an oxygen-containing medium, carbon nanowalls (CNWs) were successfully removed, and the underlying layer containing n-diamond was analyzed. For the first time, X-ray diffraction results of a separate n-diamond phase were obtained for this layer.