Electron paramagnetic resonance and raman spectroscopy characterization of diamond films fabricated by HF CVD method

Abstract Thin polycrystalline diamond films were synthesized on silicon substrate by Hot Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition (HF CVD) technique from a mixture of hydrogen and different content of methyl alcohol. A comparative study on the Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR), Raman spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were performed. It was shown that EPR signal, Raman spectra and morphology, studied by SEM, strongly depend on the ratio of CH 3 OH/H 2 in the HF CVD reactor. The peak‐to‐peak line‐width in EPR signal varies from 0.09 to 0.8 mT depending on diamond quality. The Raman spectra of our diamond film showed, except well defined diamond Raman lines positioned at 1332 cm ‐1 with different Full Width at Half Maximum (FWHM), a broad band having maximum at around 1530 cm ‐1 which is characteristic for amorphous carbon phase. The obtained results show that EPR, SEM and Raman spectroscopy yield complementary results about the defects present in CVD diamond films. (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)