Nucleation and growth of diamond on FeSi2/Si substrates by hot filament chemical vapor deposition

We have investigated the characteristics of diamond nucleation on silicon substrates alloyed with iron during hot-filament chemical vapor deposition of diamond film. It is shown that the presence of FeSi2 phase enhances nucleation of diamond crystals by more than an order of magnitude compared to bare silicon substrates. The FeSi2 was formed by laser deposition of iron on silicon substrates, followed by thermal annealing at 700 °C. The deposition characteristics of diamond and reaction of iron with silicon substrates were investigated as a function of annealing treatments using Rutherford backscattering, x-ray diffraction, Raman and Auger electron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. Implications of controlling and enhancing the diamond nucleation in the formation of continuous diamond film are discussed.