Nucleation and growth of diamond films on molybdenum

The nucleation and growth of diamond films on molybdenum were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Diamond films were deposited by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition via electron emission-enhanced nucleation, in which a dc negative voltage relative to the filament was applied to a tungsten electrode that was previously coated with diamond, by chemical vapor deposition. The electrode-to-substrate distance was one of the deposition variables. The maximum value of the nucleation density was found to be up to 1011 cm−2 on a pristine Mo surface by electron emission-enhanced nucleation. Electron emission-enhanced nucleation also greatly improved the quality and adhesion of diamond films on a Mo substrate.