Heteroepitaxial diamond nucleation and growth on silicon by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition synthesis

Heteroepitaxial diamond films were successfully nucleated and deposited on 1-inch diameter Si(001) substrates by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MPECVD). The precursor gases for the synthesis were methane and hydrogen. Before the application of a negative d.c. bias to the substrate, an in-situ carburization pre-treatment on the silicon was found to be an indispensable step towards the heteroepitaxial diamond on the silicon. Morphologies of the films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Interface observations based on the cross-sectional HRTEM directly reveal the heteroepitaxial diamond nucleation phenomena in detail. No interlayers of silicon carbide and/or amorphous carbon phases were observed. Tilt and azimuthal misorientation angles between the heteroepitaxial diamond crystals and the substrate were determined by combining the Ewald sphere construction in the reciprocal lattice space and the selected area diffraction (SAD) patterns taken across the interface.