Seeding With a Diamond Suspension for Growth of Smooth Polycrystalline Diamond Surfaces

AbstractA number of techniques have been used to smooth polycrystalline diamond films. Recent work in substrate seeding with nanocrystalline diamond powder, alone or in a carrier fluid, has shown that diamond seeding improves nucleation density and reduces diamond surface roughness. In this work, silicon substrates were seeded using a commercially available waterbased 0.1 micrometer diamond polishing suspension. Growth was achieved using conventional hot-filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD). Films were characterized using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and surface profilometry. The resulting diamond films exhibited well-faceted crystals, small grain size and minimal surface roughness. Additionally, the silicon substrate was chemically etched in order to permit examination of the backside of the diamond film. Results show that the diamond surface at the silicon-diamond interface is ultra-smooth. Comparison of the backside of these surfaces with those prepared using conventional diamond grit abrasion indicates that a significant improvement in surface quality is achieved using this diamond seeding technique.