NUCLEATION AND BULK FILM GROWTH-KINETICS OF NANOCRYSTALLINE DIAMOND PREPARED BY MICROWAVE PLASMA-ENHANCED CHEMICAL-VAPOR-DEPOSITION ON SILICON SUBSTRATES

Real time spectroscopic ellipsometry has been applied to characterize the substrate temperature (T) dependence of the deposition rates for n anocrystalline diamond thin films prepared by microwave plasma-enhance d chemical vapor deposition on seeded Si substrates. With the real tim e capability, it is possible to determine the rates at which the diamo nd mass thickness (i.e., volume per area) increases during the early n ucleation and bulk film growth regimes. The increases in the nucleatin g and bulk diamond growth rates with T for 400 < T < 800 degrees C are consistent with activation energies of similar to 17 and 8 kcal/mol, respectively. The results reported here provide insights into the natu re of the low-T growth rate limitations for diamond films on nondiamon d substrates. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.