TEXTURED DIAMOND GROWTH BY LOW-PRESSURE FLAT FLAME CHEMICAL-VAPOR-DEPOSITION

A laminar, flat-flame burner has been constructed for the deposition o f diamond films using an acetylene/oxygen flame at reduced pressures. The stagnation flow results in uniform deposition conditions across th e diameter of the burner. Under certain operating conditions the growt h rate and morphology are primarily controlled by the substrate temper ature. Conditions for the deposition of [100] textured films are repor ted for a flat-flame system. From growth rate measurements an apparent activation energy of 22 kcal/mol was observed. The maximum growth rat e of 5.5 mu m/h is the highest reported to date for a low pressure com bustion system. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.