Controlling the growth of CVD carbon from methane on transition metal substrates

A hot-wall chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method was employed to grow crystalline graphitic carbon on transition metal substrates. Temperature dependence of the CVD carbon growth and the influence of methane concentration (carbon source) on the growth rate of carbon were systematically investigated. The effect of the substrate on the growth rate and carbon crystallinity was also investigated. These factors, temperature, methane concentration, and type of substrate, influenced the growth of CVD carbon. The carbon growth pattern appears to start with the most crystalline graphitic carbon being produced on the surface of the Fe and Ni and becomes more amorphous as the coating thickness increases. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.