Process study of thermal plasma chemical vapor deposition of diamond,part II: Pressure dependence and effect of substrate pretreatment

The effect of pressure during thermal plasma chemical vapor deposition of diamond films has been investigated for a pressure range from 100 to 760 Torr. The maximum growth rate in our experiments occurs at 270 Torr for substrate temperatures around 1000°C. The existence of an optimum pressure for diamond deposition may he related to the balance between generation and recombination of atomic hydrogen and carbon-containing active species in front of the substrate. To estimate the concentrations of atomic hydrogen and methyl radicals under thermal plasma conditions, calculations based on thermodynamic equilibrium have been performed. This approximate evaluation provides useful guidelines because rapid diffusion results in a near frozen chemistry within the boundary layer. The effect of substrate pretreatment on diamond deposition depends on the type of substrate used. Two growth modes have been observed-layer growth and island growth of diamond crystals on various substrates. Screw dislocations have been observed in diamond deposition in thermal plasmas, and defects such as secondary nucleations are more concentrated along (III) directions than along (100) directions.