The Korean Society of Surface Science and Engineering

The study investigated the impact of substrate pretreatment on depositing high-quality B-doped diamond (BDD) thin films using the HFCVD method. Films were deposited on Si and Nb substrates after sanding and seeding. Despite identical sanding conditions, BDD films formed faster on Nb due to even diamond seed distribution. Post-deposition, film average roughness (R_a) remained similar to substrate R_a, but higher substrate R_a led to decreased crystallinity. Nb substrate with 0.83 μm R_a exhibited faster crystal growth due to dense, evenly distributed diamond seeds. BDD film on Nb with 0.83 μm R_a showed a wide, stable potential window (2.8 eV) in CV results and a prominent 1332 cm^-1 diamond peak in Raman spectroscopy, indicating high quality. The findings underscore the critical role of substrate pretreatment in achieving high-quality BDD film fabrication, crucial for applications demanding robust p-type semiconductors with superior electrical properties.

키워드 Boron-doped diamond; HF-CVD; Sanding process; Seeding process; Potential window