Highly stressed carbon film coatings on silicon: Potential applications

Highly stressed and strongly adhered nanocrystalline diamond films are grown on Si substrates by providing controlled and continuous bias current density (BCD) in microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition system. The stress and hence the curvature of the films on Si substrates can be varied and controlled by changing the BCD. We propose applications for such stressed films in the areas in which bent crystals are being used for various purposes, i.e., particle physics, x-ray optics, etc. These bent Si substrates can replace crystal benders, a cumbersome mechanical arrangement, used for bending Si in those areas. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.