Use of tungsten interlayer to enhance the initial nucleation and conformality of ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) thin films

摘要

Extremely smooth (6 nm roughness) and continuous ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) thin films were achieved by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition using a thin 10 nm tungsten (W) interlayer between the silicon (Si) substrate and the diamond film. The W interlayer significantly increased the initial UNCD nucleation density to 10¹² sites/cm², thereby lowering the surface roughness and eliminating interfacial voids. A method is also disclosed to make various articles.