The Nucleation Mechanism of Substrates Surface Defects in Low Pressure Vapor Deposition of Diamond Thin Films

To promote diamond nucleation density, introduction of defects on the substrate surface is an effective method in low pressure vapor deposition of diamond thin film growth. However, little studies in this field have been made so far. Based on our experiments, we present in the paper the diamond nucleation mechanisms of the groove defects on the substrate surface. The size of the groove defects is of key importance for the diamond nucleation: An appropriate size of the groove defects can effectively promote the nucleation. Finally, we studied the significance of the theory in the controlling of diamond nucleation density via the surface defects on the substrate.