1. Synthesis and characterization of smooth ultrananocrystalline diamond films via low pressure bias-enhanced nucleation and growth
- Author
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I-Nan Lin, Xiaoyan Zhong, Andrew R. Konicek, Anirudha V. Sumant, Orlando Auciello, Nyan-Hwa Tai, Jon Hiller, Yi Chen, Robert W. Carpick, Bernd Kabius, and David S. Grierson
- Subjects
Nanostructure ,Materials science ,Physics and Astronomy (miscellaneous) ,Absorption spectroscopy ,Nucleation ,Diamond ,Nanotechnology ,Crystal growth ,engineering.material ,XANES ,Chemical engineering ,Transmission electron microscopy ,engineering ,Growth rate - Abstract
This letter describes the fundamental process underlying the synthesis of ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films, using a new low-pressure, heat-assisted bias-enhanced nucleation (BEN)/bias enhanced growth (BEG) technique, involving H2∕CH4 gas chemistry. This growth process yields UNCD films similar to those produced by the Ar-rich/CH4 chemistries, with pure diamond nanograins (3–5nm), but smoother surfaces (∼6nm rms) and higher growth rate (∼1μm∕h). Synchrotron-based x-Ray absorption spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy studies on the BEN-BEG UNCD films provided information critical to understanding the nucleation and growth mechanisms, and growth condition-nanostructure-property relationships.
- Published
- 2008
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