Interfaces in Nano-/Microcrystalline Multigrade CVD Diamond Coatings

The interfaces of multilayered CVD diamond films grown by the hot-filament technique were characterized with high detail using HRTEM, STEM-EDX, and EELS. The results show that at the transition from micro- (MCD) to nanocrystalline diamond (NCD), a thin precursor graphitic film is formed, irrespectively of the NCD gas chemistry used (with or without argon). On the contrary, the transition of the NCD to MCD grade is free of carbon structures other than diamond, the result of a higher substrate temperature and more abundant atomic H in the gas chemistry. At those transitions WC nanoparticles could be found due to contamination from the filament, being also present at the first interface of the MCD layer with the silicon nitride substrate.