Prediction of the feasibility of oriented diamond films by microwave plasma-assisted CVD

Abstract

After the nucleation step, the fabrication of textured or heteroepitaxial diamond film depends strongly on the direction of the fastest growth (vector denoted dv max) associated with every diamond particle. From quantification of this vector for single-crystal and multiply twinned particles (MTPs), we can determine the relative feasibility of textured or heteroepitaxial films in relation to preparation conditions such as the hydrocarbon concentration or substrate temperature. This theoretical study, that takes account of the results of morphological and structural characterizations of textured diamond films, reveals the difficulty of producing 〈111〉 textured films that lead to 〈011〉 textured films, and the ease of obtaining 〈001〉 textured films.