Nano-diamond films produced from CVD of camphor

Nano-diamond films were deposited by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) of camphor (C10H16O) and hydrogen (similar to 75 vol.%) on glass (at 523-623 K) and quartz/Si substrate (at 523-713 K). The films had low values of surface roughness (similar to 17 nm on quartz) along with high values of hardness and band gap. IR studies of the films deposited on Si substrate indicated the films to be transparent in the IR region. Optical properties of the films deposited on quartz (fused silica) and glass (Corning) substrates were studied. The absorption data in the below band gap region were utilized to estimate the strain (2-12 x 10(-3)), stress (1.9-8.4 GPa) and hardness (47-62 GPa) in the films. The FTIR studies of the films did not show absorption around 2900 cm(-1), while the Raman spectra indicated a sharp peak (with FWHM similar to 8 cm(-1)) at 1337 cm(-1) corresponding to good quality diamond films. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science S.A.