H-plasma-annealed and homoepitaxially grown diamond (001) surface structure studied with reflection high-energy electron diffraction

Diamond (001) surfaces have been studied using reflection high-energy electron diffraction after annealing in H plasma and after homoepitaxial growth of diamond films. These surfaces show the transition from double-domain to nearly single-domain structures with misorientation angles toward [110], which is dependent upon temperature. When surfaces are close to the single-domain structure, type-A terraces dominate the H-plasma-annealed surfaces and type-B terraces are the major domain of the as-grown film surfaces. We infer that the step formation energies increase in the order of D-A, S-A+S-B, and D-B on the surfaces annealed in H plasma, and in the order of D-B, S-A+S-B, and D-A on the as-grown film surfaces.