Effect of substrate crystalline orientation on boron-doped homoepitaxial diamond growth

Abstract

Boron-doped diamond layers have been grown by MW PECVD on substrates with a misorientation over the range of 0 to 90° relative to the (100) crystalline plane while keeping all other growth conditions constant. Deposited layers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The deposition rate, surface roughness, and boron incorporation vary according to the substrate misorientation. These results show the essential need for rigorous control of the substrate crystalline orientation in the synthesis of doped diamond for electronic applications. Thick, smooth, and free of surface defects boron-doped epitaxial diamond layers were obtained over a broad range of crystalline orientations at high growth rates and high boron incorporation efficiency. Novelty statementThis work reports on the effect of the substrate crystalline orientation on the morphology, growth rate, and boron incorporation in epitaxial diamond layers deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition.