An Investigation into the Use of a Diffusion Barrier in the Microwave Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition of Diamond on Iron Based Substrates

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe growth of CVD diamond onto iron based substrates is complicated by preferential soot formation and carbon diffusion into the substrate, leading to poor quality films and poor adhesion. One strategy to overcome these problems is the use of thin film barrier layers between the Fe substrate and the growing diamond film. The present investigation reports the growth of diamond films on Fe substrates coated with thin films of TiN. The effectiveness of the TiN layers in inhibiting C diffusion into the Fe substrate was investigated by Auger measurements of the C distribution within the TiN layer, through the interface and into the substrate both before and after diamond deposition.The re..