Abstract
Diamond thin films were deposited by decomposing gaseous mixtures of methane and hydrogen in a low pressure microwave discharge. The addition of noble gases such as helium, neon, argon, krypton and xenon can be regarded as providing efficient dilution, though hydrogen is the main dilution gas reacting actively in the diamond deposition. Different concentration ratios of noble gases to methane and hydrogen have been studied. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, electron energy loss spectroscopy, energy-dispersive spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the morphology, microstructure, composition and crystallinity of the deposited films. Results indicated that the introduction of the noble gases effectively influenced the nucleation, surface morphology and crystalline perfection of the diamond deposits at higher methane concentrations. Proper selection of the noble gases and their concentrations in hydrogen effectively suppressed the formation of nondiamond carbon phases and thus improved the crystal quality significantly.
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