Epitaxial growth of diamond thin films on foreign substrates

Abstract

Diamond thin films have been grown on several kinds of single crystal substrates by using DC plasma chemical vapor deposition. As an example of epitaxy of diamond on a foreign substrate, the growth processes of diamond thin films on cubic boron nitride (cBN) surfaces are observed by scanning electron microscopy. It is found that diamond thin films can be growth epitaxially on a boron plane of cBN {111} and, on a nitrogen plane of cBN {111}; diamond cannot be deposited except at the defect parts of the surfaces. The possibility of epitaxial growth of diamond thin films on foreign substrates is discussed briefly.