Enhanced nucleation and growth of diamond on SiC by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using thin metal films

Presented is a method for growing crystalline diamond films by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition without the need for seeding with diamond particles. Instead, diamond nucleation and growth is "catalyzed" by a thin metal film which has been either abraded or deposited onto a SiC coated substrate. In the first experiment Fe, Cu, Ti, Nb, Mo, and Ni were abraded onto a SiC surface resulting in varying degrees of diamond nucleation and growth. In the second experiment, Fe films with thickness varying from 5 to 80 Å were evaporated onto the SiC. Although the 5 Å Fe film did not influence the initial nucleation and growth rate, greater thicknesses did. Preliminary studies of Fe on Si have not shown this effect.