Diamond thin films by microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition process

This article reviews in brief the importance of diamond thin films for semiconductor industry. Here we report the design and development of a very high vacuum compatible microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition (MWPCVD) system. The growth of very good quality diamond thin films has been reported from the CH4-H-2 plasma, the nucleation of diamond phase has been controlled by using a variety of substrate pretreatment process. The role of various deposition parameters has been investigated in brief. Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) has been used to diagnose the plasma. OES data has been correlated with microstructure of the films. These films have been characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE).