Heteroepitaxial growth of diamond on an iridium (100) substrate using microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition

An iridium (100) layer was epitaxially coated on a MgO (100) plate by sputtering at 1123 K, and was then utilized in the formation of diamond by microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) using methane as the carbon source. The electric contact between the substrate and holder was confirmed by coating the entire MgO surface with iridium. The iridium substrate was then treated by bias-enhanced nucleation under optimized conditions. It was found that diamond particles formed by MPCVD were essentially oriented to the iridium substrate. The diamond particles were then grown to the [100] and further to the [111], and a smooth diamond film was obtained. The full width at half maximum of the (400) rocking curve of the diamond film was 0.16 degrees. which was close to that of a diamond single crystal. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.