Improvements in the formation of boron-doped diamond coatings on platinum wires using the novel nucleation process (NNP)

In order to increase the initial nucleation density for the growth of boron-doped diamond on platinum wires, we employed the novel nucleation process (NNP) originally developed by Rotter et al. [1]. This pretreatment method involves (i) the initial formation of a thin carbon layer over the substrate followed by (ii) ultrasonic seeding of this "soft" carbon layer with nanoscale particles of diamond. This two-step pretreatment is followed by the deposition of boron-doped diamond by microwave plasma-assisted CVD. Both the diamond seed particles and sites on the carbon layer itself function as the initial nucleation zones for diamond growth from an H-2-rich source gas mixture. We report herein on the characterization of the pre-growth carbon layer formed on Pt as well as boron-doped films grown for 2, 4 and 6 h post NNP pretreatment. Results from scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and electrochemical studies are reported. The NNP method increases the initial nucleation density on Pt and leads to the formation of a continuous diamond film in a shorter deposition time than is typical for wires pretreated by conventional ultrasonic seeding. The results indicate that the pre-growth layer itself consists of nanoscopic domains of diamond and functions well to enhance the initial nucleation of diamond without any diamond powder seeding. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.