Oriented growth of diamond on thermally carburized silicon substrates

Oriented growth of diamond on Si(100) substrates has been achieved by performing ''thermal carburization'' of the substrates prior to diamond growth by the d.c. plasma CVD method. Oriented diamond particles approximately 10(7) cm(-2) in number density are observed together with randomly oriented diamond particles. It is confirmed by reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) analysis that these oriented diamond particles are tilted with respect to the crystallographic axis of the substrate. RHEED and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses have revealed that epitaxial beta-SiC layers with carbon-rich surfaces play an important role in the oriented growth of diamond on Si.