DIAMOND EPITAXY ON (001)SILICON - AN INTERFACE INVESTIGATION

In combination with scanning electron microscopy and x-ray pole-figure analysis high resolution electron microscope (HREM) observation of the diamond-silicon cross section in a [001] epitaxially oriented diamond film was carried out to investigate the atomic interfacial microstructure. The films were prepared by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition using a bias-enhanced nucleation technique. Due to the multiple fit of diamond and silicon lattices, there is a periodic 3-to-2 registry of {111} atom planes of the epitaxial diamond-silicon interface. Planar defects on diamond {111} planes and interface misfit dislocations are shown for epitaxially oriented and for slightly misoriented diamond crystallites. A cubic silicon carbide ''transition'' is found to be unnecessary for the epitaxy. The misorientation of the grown crystallites is also studied and found to be probably due to interface imperfection. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.