FILAMENT-ASSISTED GROWTH OF DIAMOND FILMS

Filament-assisted pyrolytic growth of diamond films on (100) Si wafers was investigated in an attempt to grow quality layers for semiconductor applications The work was carried out in hydrogen ambient under a reduced pressure condition of about 100 torr (133, 322 x 10(2) Pa). Using isopropanol and methanol as carbon source chemicals, the growth process and film properties were characterized as functions of reactant concentration, filament and substrate temperature, reaction pressure and the total gas flow rate. Diamond films of good quality were grown under condition of low source concentration and small flow rate. However, the growth rates were generally slow. The films were polycrystalline. The filament and substrate temperatures were fairly critical to the nucleation and growth processes. The substrate surface finishing from diamond paste polishing predominated the nucleation site and grain size of the deposits.