Berlin 2008 – scientific programme
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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten
DS 41: Layer Deposition Processes
DS 41.4: Talk
Friday, February 29, 2008, 15:15–15:30, H 2032
Investigation of the Nucleation and Growth Mechanisms of Nanocrystalline Diamond Films — •Christian Sippel1, Cyril Popov1, Wilhelm Kulisch2, Dieter Grambole3, and Johann Peter Reithmaier1 — 1Universität Kassel, Institut für Nanotechnologie und Analytik, Heinrich-Plett-Straße 40, 34132 Kassel, Germany — 2European Commission Joint Research Centre, Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, TP 203, Via Enrico Fermi 1, 21020 Ispra, Italy. — 3Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e. V., Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research, P. O. Box 510119, D-01314 Dresden, Germany
Nanocrystalline diamond (NCD)/ amorphous carbon composite films were deposited on Si substrates from CH4 / N2 gas mixtures by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman and Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies, and nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) were applied to characterize the films. Ultrasonic pretreatment of the substrates with NCD powder suspended in n-pentane leads to nucleation densities on the order of 108 cm−2 ; the variation of the grain size from 1 µm to 250 nm brings only marginal changes. In contrast, the addition of ultradispersive diamond powder increases the nucleation density by two orders of magnitude. Once the films are closed, their surface consists of larger features whose substructure is composed of much smaller features as revealed by SEM and AFM. The results from FTIR and NRA elucidate the complex mechanisms of hydrogen incorporation in the films and its role in the growth mechanism.