DIAMOND ON HETEROEPITAXIAL CBN ON SI(100)

Herein is reported for the first time the growth of diamond crystals (about 40 mu m) on Si(100) substrates over an area of 1 cm(2) by a plasma-enhanced CVD technique. The Si(100) substrates were prepared for diamond growth through the use of a dual interfacial layer technique, comprising a laser-ablated single-crystal heteroepitaxial cubic BN (cBN)(100) interfacial layer and laser-ablated diamond nucleation layer. The (100) plane of the single-crystal heteroepitaxial cBN interfacial layer is parallel to the (100) plane of Si, with the (011) plane of the cBN film parallel to the (001) plane of the Si substrate. The (100) and (001) planes of the diamond crystals have been found to be oriented parallel to the (100) and (001) planes of the cBN film, respectively.