Diamond deposition using anX-Y stage in a d.c. plasma jet chemical vapour deposition.pdf

JOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE 27 (1992) 5905 5910 Diamond deposition using an X-Ystage in a d.c. plasma jet chemical vapour deposition SEI ICHIRO M A T S U M O T O National Institute for Research in Inorganic Materials, 1-1 NamikL Tsukuba-shi 305, Japan YUJI M A N A B E Japan Synthetic Rubber Co. Ltd, 25 Migukigaoka, Tsukuba-shi 305, Japan Y U K I N O B U H IB INO UL VAC Japan Ltd, 5-9- 7 Tohkohdai, Tsukuba-shi 300-26, Japan Diamond was deposited using the substrate scanning mode in a d.c. plasma jet of the Ar-H2-CH 4 system. Film thickness profiles, SEM and Raman spectra of the diamonds obtained revealed that uniformity of film thickness, crystal size and crystal quality was improved, but the deposition rate decreased with the scanning speed and the crystal quality was worse than that made in the centre of the flame without scanning. 1. I n t r o d u c t i o n The d.c. plasma jet method is known to give the highest deposition rate of diamond [1-3]. However, the deposition area is small and the radial gradients of film thickness and film quality are steep because of its small flame diameter in the usual torch. An attempt to improve the uniformity by applying bias voltage to a substrate was not so successful [4]. In a plasma spraying method with a d.c. plasma torch, which is widely used to coat high-temperature materials at high speed, it is usual to scan a torch or a substrate to achieve deposition over a large area or in a complicated shape. Therefore, we have tried here to deposit diamond over a larger area by scanning a substrate in d.c. plasma jet chemical vapour depos- ition (CVD). In addition, the scanning was expected to provide another way of controlling the substrate tem- perature. The results of the preliminary experiments are reported. 2. Experimental procedure The torch used was the same as used before I-2, 4]. The arc discharge between a tungsten cathode containing lanthanum oxide and a water-cooled copper anode