Photocatalytic and Optoelectronic Properties of Polycrystalline Diamond

Characterization of homoepitaxial diamond films by Electron microscopy

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100088713 ◽

1991 ◽

Vol 49 ◽

pp. 880-881

Author(s):

D.P. Malta ◽

S.A. Willard ◽

R.A. Rudder ◽

G.C. Hudson ◽

J.B. Posthill ◽

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Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Surface Defects ◽

Substrate Surface ◽

Diamond Films ◽

Chemical Vapor ◽

Polycrystalline Diamond ◽

Large Degree ◽

Rf Plasma ◽

Semiconducting Diamond

Semiconducting diamond films have the potential for use as a material in which to build active electronic devices capable of operating at high temperatures or in high radiation environments. A major goal of current device-related diamond research is to achieve a high quality epitaxial film on an inexpensive, readily available, non-native substrate. One step in the process of achieving this goal is understanding the nucleation and growth processes of diamond films on diamond substrates. Electron microscopy has already proven invaluable for assessing polycrystalline diamond films grown on nonnative surfaces.The quality of the grown diamond film depends on several factors, one of which is the quality of the diamond substrate. Substrates commercially available today have often been found to have scratched surfaces resulting from the polishing process (Fig. 1a). Electron beam-induced current (EBIC) imaging shows that electrically active sub-surface defects can be present to a large degree (Fig. 1c). Growth of homoepitaxial diamond films by rf plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) has been found to planarize the scratched substrate surface (Fig. 1b).

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Microstructural Study of Diamond Deformed Under High Pressure and Temperature

Proceedings, annual meeting, Electron Microscopy Society of America ◽

10.1017/s0424820100118072 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 43 ◽

pp. 230-231

Author(s):

E. F. Koch

Keyword(s):

High Pressure ◽

High Temperature ◽

Lattice Structure ◽

Diamond Particle ◽

Polycrystalline Diamond ◽

Sintering Process ◽

Ion Milling ◽

Sintered Compact ◽

Transmission Electron ◽

High Pressure Sintering

Because of the extremely rigid lattice structure of diamond, generating new dislocations or moving existing dislocations in diamond by applying mechanical stress at ambient temperature is very difficult. Analysis of portions of diamonds deformed under bending stress at elevated temperature has shown that diamond deforms plastically under suitable conditions and that its primary slip systems are on the ﹛111﹜ planes. Plastic deformation in diamond is more commonly observed during the high temperature - high pressure sintering process used to make diamond compacts. The pressure and temperature conditions in the sintering presses are sufficiently high that many diamond grains in the sintered compact show deformed microtructures.In this report commercially available polycrystalline diamond discs for rock cutting applications were analyzed to study the deformation substructures in the diamond grains using transmission electron microscopy. An individual diamond particle can be plastically deformed in a high pressure apparatus at high temperature, but it is nearly impossible to prepare such a particle for TEM observation, since any medium in which the diamond is mounted wears away faster than the diamond during ion milling and the diamond is lost.

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