EXAMINATION OF HEXAGONAL PLATELET DIAMOND GROWTH BY ATOMIC FORCE MICROSCOPY

摘要

Due to the harsh environments of CVD diamond reactors, in-situ monitoring of growth using nanotechnology is not possible. Instead, diamond growth was investigated over time using atomic force microscopy (AFM). AFM measurements were taken at 10 minute intervals to analyze the atomic scale processes involved during growth of a {111} diamond platelet. The study used an existing diamond sample with prevalent hexagonal platelet morphology and the same platelets were examined on each occasion by AFM. This study showed that, as crystal growth proceeds, island growth predominates over step propagation. This phenomenon is believed to be the cause for the faceting of diamond crystals, which detracts from diamond film quality. The oxygen in the gas phase reduced the extent of island formation during diamond growth.