THERMAL-CONDUCTIVITY OF CVD DIAMOND FILMS

Diamond films 60 and 170 mu m in thickness were grown by PACVD (plasma -assisted chemical vapor deposition) under similar conditions. The the rmal diffusivity of these freestanding films was measured between 100 and 800 K using AC calorimetry. Radiation heat loss from the surface w as estimated by analyzing both the amplitude and the phase shift of a lock-in amplifier signal. Thermal conductivity was calculated using th e specific heat data of natural diamond. At room temperature, the ther mal conductivity of the 60 and 170 mu m films is 9 and 16 W . cm(-1). K-1 respectively, which is 40-70% that of natural diamond. The tempera ture dependence of thermal conductivity of the CVD diamond films is si milar to that of natural diamond. Phonon scattering processes are cons idered using the Debye model. The microsite of the grain boundary has a significant effect on the mean free path of phonons at low temperatu res. The grain in CVD diamond film is grown as a columnar structure. T hus, the thicker film has the larger mean grain size and the higher th ermal conductivity. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Raman spect roscopy were used to study the microstructure of the CVD diamond films . In this experiment, we evaluated the quality of CVD diamond film of the whole sample by measuring the thermal conductivity.