Study of the effects of low-energy electron bombardment during the chemical vapor deposition of diamond

The effects of low-energy electron bombardment during the chemical vapor deposition of diamond were studied. The film growth was monitored in real time with in situ phase-modulated ellipsometry, in order to trigger the electron bombardment at different growth stages. Ex situ Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy were employed to evaluate the crystalline quality and the morphology of the grown films, respectively. The results indicated that triggering the electron bombardment after high-quality scattered diamond crystallites had formed results in finely grained smoother films of similar diamond yield and crystalline quality as those grown without bombardment. However, the electron bombardment deteriorates the film crystalline quality and the diamond yield when it was triggered from the start of deposition.