Comparison of silicon, nickel, and nickel silicide (Ni3Si) as substrates for epitaxial diamond growth

D. A. Tucker, D. K. Seo, M. H. Whangbo, F. R. Sivazlian, B. R. Stoner, S. P. Bozeman, A. T. Sowers, R. J. Nemanich, J. T. Glass

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

We carried out experimental and theoretical studies aimed at probing interface interactions of diamond with Si, Ni, and Ni3Si substrates. Oriented diamond films deposited on (100) silicon were characterized by polar Raman, polar XRD, and cross-sectional HRTEM. These studies show that the diamond-(100)/Si(100) interface does not adopt the 45°-rotation but the 3 : 2-match arrangement. Our extended Hückel tight-binding (EHTB) electronic structure calculations for a model system show that the interface interaction favors the 3 : 2-match arrangement. Growth on polycrystalline Ni3Si resulted in oriented diamond particles while, under the same growth conditions, largely graphite was formed on the nickel substrate. Our EHTB electronic structure calculations for model systems show that the (111) and (100) surfaces of Ni3Si have a strong preference for diamond-nucleation over graphite-nucleation, but this is not the case for the (111) and (100) surfaces of Ni.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)179-194
Number of pages16
JournalSurface Science
Volume334
Issue number1-3
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 10 1995
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Diamond
  • Epitaxy
  • Nickel
  • Polycrystalline thin films
  • Semi-empirical models and model calculations
  • Silicon

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Surfaces and Interfaces
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films
  • Materials Chemistry

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