Measurements of the Raman spectra in chemical vapour deposition (CVD)
diamond films at temperatures up to 1200 K are presented. Specifically
, the evolution of Raman line position, line width, and intensity were
monitored as a function of heating time. The red shifting and the lin
e width broadening of CVD diamond's Raman line with temperature are ve
ry similar to that of natural diamond's. However, the detailed tempera
ture dependence of Raman line width depends on the orientation of the
CVD diamond crystal and the ambient gas used during thermal treatment.
Since the CVD diamond usually exhibited a broader Raman spectra than
natural diamond, the evolution of the line width upon heating is thus
expected to depend on the origins and the annealing effects of the res
idual stress. For (111) CVD diamond subjected to annealing in air at 9
73 K, the line width decreased by more than one wavenumber while the l
ine intensity increased by more than an order of magnitude before it d
ecreased subsequently. In contrast, there is hardly any observable cha
nges of the line width for (100) CVD diamond heated in air at 1173 K.
Measurements conducted in He versus in air suggested that the reductio
n of the non-diamond carbon phase (therefore, the reduction of stress)
is likely due to oxidation, which occurs more readily in (111) than i
n (100).