EFFECT OF SURFACE SPECIES CONCENTRATIONS AND TEMPERATURE ON DIAMOND FILM MORPHOLOGY IN INDUCTIVELY-COUPLED RF PLASMA CVD

Diamond films were deposited with an r.f. plasma operating at atmosphe ric pressure. The gas composition above the growth surface was measure d with a gas chromatograph. Experiments were conducted over a range of methane flow rates and substrate temperatures. Films were characteriz ed by SEM and X-ray diffraction texture analysis. Increases in either input methane-hydrogen ratio or substrate temperature caused film morp hology to shift from {111} toward {100} faceting, while the measured r atio of CH4 to C2H2 decreased. We speculate that the temperature effec t on species concentrations and film morphology is due to the temperat ure dependence of surface-catalyzed atomic hydrogen recombination. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.