Properties Of Low Temperature Plasma CVD Diamond Films

Abstract

In the microwave plasma deposition (PECVD) of diamond from methane, the variables available for controlling the microstructure of the resulting films are the plasma composition and density, the substrate surface properties, and the temperature. It has been demonstrated that the competition between nucleation site formation and the rate of reactive plasma etching is the critical feature in the development of the film microstructure. Through reducing the deposition temperature and enhancing the etching rates of sp2 carbon, fine grained optical quality diamond films have been produced.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.