Nucleation Enhancement of Nanocrystalline Diamond Growth at Low Substrate Temperatures by Adamantane Seeding

Abstract

Continuous nanocrystalline diamond films have been grown on Si and glass substrates at substrate temperatures of around 150 °C by the microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition technique. We have observed the nucleation enhancement of diamond crystals from adamantane (C10H16) seeding for the first time, which is effective for the formation of high-density nanocrystalline diamond films at low substrate temperatures. X-ray diffraction analyses indicate that the deposited films comprise diamond nanocrystals with an average size of 14 nm. UV Raman spectra of the films clearly exhibit the diamond signature at 1333 cm−1.