Study of the effects of low-energy electron bombardment during the chemical vapor deposition of diamond

The effects of low-energy electron bombardment during the chemical vapor de position of diamond were studied. The film growth was monitored in real tim e with in situ phase-modulated ellipsometry, in order to trigger the electr on bombardment at different growth stages. Ex situ Raman spectroscopy and s canning electron microscopy were employed to evaluate the crystalline quali ty and the morphology of the grown films, respectively. The results indicat ed that triggering the electron bombardment after high-quality scattered di amond crystallites had formed results in finely grained smoother films of s imilar diamond yield and crystalline quality as those grown without bombard ment. However, the electron bombardment deteriorates the film crystalline q uality and the diamond yield when it was triggered from the start of deposi tion.