Carbon nanostructures and diamond growth by HFCVD: role of the substrate preparation and synthesis conditions

The feasibility of the hot filament assisted chemical vapour deposition (HFCVD) technique to synthesize carbon nanostructures on catalyst particles has been investigated using an atmosphere of methane diluted in hydrogen. Depending on the deposition temperature and the methane content, different carbon nanostructures were obtained. The peculiarity of the HFCVD technique appears to be its ability to favor a whisker like growth mode of carbon nanostructures for a particular range of the deposition parameters. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.