X-ray diffraction pole figure measurements of diamond films grown on platinum (111)

Abstract

Diamond films of various thicknesses (1.5-12 μm) deposited on Pt (111) by microwave enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD) were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observation and x-ray diffraction pole figure measurements. The dependence of the surface morphology and structure of the films on the film thickness were investigated. It was observed by SEM that the coalescence between neighboring (111) diamond surface became more significant as the film thickness increased. It was revealed by the x-ray diffraction measurements that the 1〈111〉 texture of the diamond films improved with increasing film thickness, whereas azimuthal alignment of the crystals was roughly independent of the film thickness. It was also found that the deposited films contained epitaxial diamond crystals which were azimuthally rotated by 60° about the [111] axis of the samples. With increasing film thickness, the ratio of the 60°-rotated crystals to nonrotated crystals increased, which is primarily attributed to twin formation during growth of the CVD diamond on its (111) surface. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.