Towards homogeneous and reproducible highly oriented diamond films

Diamond films have been deposited by the microwave plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition technique using an ultra short bias enhanced nucleation s tep to synthesize highly oriented diamond films on single silicon substrate . Firstly in this paper, we focus on the bias enhanced nucleation process t o obtain homogeneous and reproducible diamond deposits. By optimizing the p rocess, we obtained a crystal density value of 10(9) cm(-2) on the whole su bstrate surface for a reduced polarization time of 60 s. Then, using scanni ng electron microscopy and image analysis, we report cartographies of cryst al densities, covering rate and average radius on the whole sample surface. Next, we analyze a local area of the surface to produce a size distributio n of the particles versus their type. Lastly, we present a discussion on th e ratio of epitaxial crystals. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights re served.