Abstract

(100)-oriented diamond films have been grown on silicon (100) in a microwave plasma assisted CVD tubular deposition system. X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD) has been used to study the first minutes of CVD diamond deposition. After 8 minutes of deposition, the diffractogram of the C1s photoemission signal shows an orientation of the SiC interface and of the diamond nuclei. By heating the silicon substrate to 780°C in a pure hydrogen plasma before starting the deposition, any surface damages such as argon bombardment effects are restored and the native oxide layer is removed. Therefore, the silicon surface has a perfect crystalline structure and the (100) orientation can be transmitted to the growing CVD diamond layer through an intermediate, oriented SiC layer.