Continuous Thin Diamond Film and Method for Making Same

1. Field of The Invention

The present invention is related to thin diamond films. More specifically, the present invention relates to continuous thin diamond films, and methods for making continuous thin diamond films.

2. The Prior Art

Diamond films of a sort have been reported in the literature. However, continuous diamond films having thicknesses substantially less than 1 micron over large areas (i.e., 1 cm.sup.2) appear to have been beyond the reach of the art. The reported methods for producing diamond films have included plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques utilizing RF energy, microwave energy, direct current techniques or hot wire filament methods with or without plasma assist.

Methods for producing diamond films have included the decomposition of a hydrocarbon gas such as methane, in the presence of hydrogen and the consequent formation of diamond crystals on a substrate material in a CVD reactor. The substrate materials have been first prepared, usually by mechanical polishing using diamond dust, in order to create suitable nucleation sites for the thin diamond film. Alternatively, thin diamond films have been epitaxially grown on existing diamond crystals. Metal substrates, as well as silicon and other semiconductor substrates, have been utilized.

A key uncertainty in the growth of diamond films has heretofore been success or not in nucleating diamond on a variety of substrates. Typically, in order to promote nucleation, the substrate has been abraded with diamond or silicon carbide powder so as to provide a high density of energetically favorable nucleation sites on the substrate surface. There are several drawbacks to this approach. Abrasion damages the substrate surface since the objective of abrasion is to provide locally damaged regions on the substrate to promote diamond film nucleation. Whereas this approach to film nucleation may be acceptable in those applications that are not influenced by the damaged regions on the substrate, surface abrasion has not proven viable as an approach to the promotion of diamond film nucleation in a majority of applications where the quality of the interface between the substrate and the diamond film is important.

Where diamond films are to be used in conjunction with other semiconductors such as silicon or gallium arsenide for applications as capacitors, passivation layers, and heat transfer elements, the quality of the interface between the semiconductor and the diamond film is critical. Other potential applications where good interface properties are important include the diamond coating of infrared optical materials for protection against abrasion. In such cases the optical properties of the infrared materials may be compromised by the presence of a damaged layer at the interface.

In addition to mechanical damage at the interface, substrate preparation by the use of abrasives such as diamond or silicon carbide is likely to result in a contaminated surface, a feature that is also detrimental to the creation of high quality interfaces. Cleaning the surface following abrasion can reduce the effectiveness of the locally damaged regions by the saturation of dangling bonds by the cleaning agents. Finally, the process of abrasion is difficult to control and can be considered to be more art than science, with consequent unpredictability in application.

As a consequence, approaches for appropriately treating the surface of the substrate to enhance the nucleation of diamond crystals are needed.

The physical and electrical properties of the diamond form of carbon make it a candidate for numerous potentially exciting uses. Among these uses are as semiconductor and insulating films in electronic devices, and radiation windows useful in various scientific applications.

For instance, the study of X-ray spectra from light elements, including carbon, boron, nitrogen, and oxygen, requires a window material which will pass a sufficient number of X-ray photons from a sample to allow collection of meaningful data. Prior to the present invention, such windows have been fabricated from boron nitride, beryllium, and from certain polymer films.

While these material have proved to be useful, each suffers from one or more drawbacks. For instance, the properties of boron nitride are such that windows larger than about 4 mm in diameter have generally not been practicable. In addition, boron nitride contains appreciable quantities of hydrogen, which contribute to its degradation over time.

Beryllium windows, which are the most commonly used today, apparently cannot be make thinner than about 8.0 microns without appreciable leakage. At thicknesses less vulnerable to such defects, such windows will not allow low energy X-rays from light elements such as carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and boron to pass through them. Consequently, X-rays from these elements cannot usefully be detected using beryllium windows. In addition, beryllium is easily subject to corrosion from exposure to even small amounts of water vapor in the laboratory environment.

Thin windows have been made using polymeric material, but these windows suffer from drawbacks. Polymer films, while not subject to water vapor corrosion, are subject to fatigue fracture after being repeatedly cycled between atmospheric pressure and the pressure used in X-ray analysis equipment.

The properties of diamond suggest that it is an excellent candidate for a window material in the X-ray environment, especially for observation of X-ray spectra from the light elements. A thin diamond film can be expected to be corrosion resistant, and, if properly fabricated, could have enough strength to withstand the stress of repeated pressure cycling encountered in X-ray analysis equipment. A thin diamond film, having a thickness of about 5,000 .ANG. or less, will have an x-ray absorption fine structure which will allow passage of sufficient numbers of low-energy X-ray photons to enable it to be used as a window for X-ray instrumentation.

The prior art has apparently been unable to provide a continuous thin diamond film sufficiently thin (less than about 2 microns thick) to enable it to be employed in this and other applications. For certain applications, such a film must be sufficiently defect free so that it will have very poor permeability (low leakage) and have sufficient strength to withstand both absolute pressure differentials and repeated pressure cycling in the X-ray environment. A thin diamond film possessing these properties would also qualify it as a good candidate for other applications requiring high quality diamond thin films.

A first aspect of the present invention is a thin diamond film. This film comprises polycrystalline diamond in a "continuous" (i.e., one piece) film having a thickness of less than about 2 microns. In a preferred embodiment, the thin diamond film of the present invention has a thickness of less than about 5,000 .ANG. (0.5 microns). The thin diamond film of the present invention has a low permeability to helium, indicating that it is relatively leak free. The diamond films of the present invention have a permeability to helium lower than about l.times.10.sup.-8, standard cubic centimeters per second per square millimeter of film area.

A presently preferred embodiment of the thin diamond film of the present invention is a two layer structure. A bottom layer of microcrystalline diamond is covered by a top layer of polycrystalline diamond. The bottom layer of microcrystalline diamond is formed on a substrate material which may later be completely or partially removed, for example, by etching using a selective etchant. Depending upon the application, the substrate may also be a tool or other structure upon which the diamond film of the present invention is placed as a coating.

In another aspect of the present invention, a window comprises a thin diamond film and is disposed on a supportive grid. Peripheral mounting means allows the thin diamond film window to be mounted in X-ray or other apparatus.

The thin diamond films of the present invention are fabricated using a two-stage process according to yet another aspect of the present invention.

A substrate is placed into a CVD reactor apparatus. The substrate is preferably not prepared by mechanical abrasion with diamond dust or other abrasive. The substrate holder into which the substrate is placed has an electrical connection to a source of positive voltage and thus acts as an anode.

A gas delivery system, spaced apart from the substrate holder anode, has an electrical connection to a source of negative voltage and thus acts as a cathode. The CVD reactor is assembled and sealed. Hydrogen gas is introduced into the reactor after the air is purged. A furnace surrounding the reactor is turned on. A voltage is supplied between the substrate holder and the gas delivery system.

When the temperature and pressure in the reactor have stabilized, methane gas or other reactant carbon-supplying gas is introduced into the reactor. During a first stage of deposition, a relatively high concentration of methane is used in a hydrogen atmosphere. After a predetermined period of time, the methane concentration is reduced, and a second stage of deposition proceeds with a lower reactant gas concentration for a period of time sufficient to achieve the desired thin diamond film thickness.

After the thin diamond film on the substrate has been removed from the CVD reactor, all or part of the substrate material may be removed by etching using a selective etchant. The substrate may be first masked using standard semiconductor processing techniques. A supportive grid may be mated with the finished thin diamond film, or a masking pattern may be used to produce a supportive grid for the thin diamond film for applications where physical strength and/or very thin film thickness are desired.

The drawings in this application are not necessarily to scale.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a thin diamond film on a substrate according to the presently-preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2a and 2b are top views of a portion of an area of thin diamond films grown, respectively, using a prior art technique and using the process of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a thin diamond film on a supportive grid suitable for use in a X-ray window according to one embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is an isometric view of the structure of FIG. 3 incorporated into an X-ray window including peripheral mounting means.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a DC-plasma-assisted CVD reactor suitable for producing thin diamond films according to a presently preferred embodiment of the invention.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following description of the present invention is illustrative only and not in any way limiting. Other embodiments of the invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons.

Referring first to FIG. 1, a thin diamond film 10, comprising a top layer 12 and a bottom layer 14, is disposed upon a substrate 16. Substrate 16 may be a metal, such as molybdenum, titanium, tungsten, zirconium, or aluminum, a semiconductor material, such as silicon, germanium, or gallium arsenide, or other materials. Although FIG. 1 shows a flat substrate 16 with flat top and bottom layers 12 and 14, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize from the disclosure herein that non-planar surfaces may also be coated with the thin diamond film coating of the present invention.

Top layer 12 of thin diamond film 10 is a layer of polycrystalline diamond film. Top layer 12 is deposited upon the surface of bottom layer 14, formed from microcrystalline diamond. This bottom layer 14 of microcrystalline diamond forms a large number of nucleation sites for top layer 12 of polycrystalline diamond. "Microcrystalline" herein shall mean crystals having average diameter lying between about 50 .ANG. and about 3,000 .ANG.. Bottom layer 14 provides the large number of nucleating sites on the surface of substrate 16 as a result of the performance of the process disclosed herein.

Thin diamond film 10 is a "continuous" film, meaning that it is a single piece of diamond film structure. It is a continuous film even at thickness less than 5,000 .ANG.. Thin diamond film 10 is also a high quality film, essentially free from pinholes and other major structural defects at thicknesses of less than about 5,000 .ANG.. Thin diamond film 10 is a very low leakage material, and has a permeability of lower than about 1.times.10.sup.-6 standard cubic centimeters of helium per second per square millimeter of surface area.

The thin diamond films of the present invention exhibit these beneficial properties over film areas appreciably larger than one square millimeter. For example, these films have been successfully grown on silicon substrates 10 cm in diameter. These large area high quality diamond films may be employed as X-ray spectroscope windows, X-ray lithography make membranes and in other applications.

FIG. 2a is a photomicrograph which illustrates the typical crystal structure of CVD diamond deposited to a thickness of approximately 1-2 microns using single phase processes known in the prior art. The structure is characterized by individual crystals, some of which have coalesced as they gave grown. Such a structure will not form a continuous film until it reaches a minimum thickness of about 3 microns. Diamond films grown over substrates prepared by mechanical abrasions will coalesce into continuous films at thicknesses around 0.8 microns, but will have poor leakage characteristics until substantially thicker.

FIG. 2b is a photomicrograph which illustrates the typical crystal structure at the surface of a continuous thin diamond film made according to the present invention. Continuous films as thin as 2,000 .ANG. (0.2 micron) have been successfully grown using the process of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 3, supportive grid 20 is shown in contact with thin diamond film 22. In a presently-preferred embodiment, supportive grid 20 may be a silicon grid about 0.025 inches thick, having slots about 0.004 inches wide, spaced at intervals of about 0.0015 inches, upon which a thin diamond film may be supported. Alternatively, supportive grids may be fabricated from other materials, such as a drilled metal sheet. This composite structure is useful in applications where the thin diamond film is too thin to be free-standing for the forces which will be applied to it during use. For example, the thin diamond films of the present invention find use as X-ray spectrograph windows suitable for use for observing low energy X-ray spectra from the light elements (boron, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen). In such applications, the thin diamond film has a thickness of about 5,000 .ANG. or less, and the pressure differential which will be encountered across the window is such that a supportive grid may be necessary.

The silicon supportive grid 20 of a presently-preferred embodiment may be fabricated by standard semiconductor masking and etching techniques, and is later mated with a thin diamond film 22 from which the silicon substrate on which it has been deposited has been removed in a standard semiconductor HF/HN0.sub.3 etchant.

The silicon substrate layer upon which the thin diamond film 22 has been grown may be etched using standard semiconductor masking and etching techniques to form the supportive grid 20 on the surface of thin diamond film 22 of FIG. 3.

When the thin diamond film of the present invention is used in application such as an X-ray spectroscopy window, some mounting means should be provided at the periphery of the window for attaching it to the spectroscopy equipment. A presently-preferred mounting means is an aluminum ring. A completed window including such mounting means is shown in FIG. 4.

The aluminum ring may have a flange in its internal diameter into which the thin diamond film window material may be placed. The flange may be coated with an appropriate sealant as disclosed herein and the thin diamond film placed over the bead of sealant. When the diamond film is in place, more sealant may be applied. Alternatively, the thin diamond film may be fastened between two rings with sealant.

Other mounting means are contemplated as within the scope of the present invention. For example, a peripheral diamond land which is thick relative to a central lens portion of a thin film diamond window may be formed by selectively etching an originally thick diamond film disc. Other mounting means will readily suggest themselves to those of ordinary skill in the art.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an X-ray window assembly is shown including a thin diamond film, disposed upon a supportive grid, shown at reference numeral 30, mounted within a circular aluminum ring 32. The diamond film and grid 30 are attached to circular aluminum ring 32 by use of a vacuum-compatible adhesive and sealant 34 which may be a two-part epoxy suitable for high vacuum sealing. Such vacuum-compatible adhesive and sealant 34 should be able to produce an X-ray window having a helium permeability of lower than 1.times.10.sup.-6 standard cubic centimeters per second per square millimeter of surface areas and preferably lower than 1.times.10.sup.-8 sccm/sec/mm.sup.2. Torrseal, available form Varian Corp. in Lexington, Mass., has been found to be satisfactory for this purpose as has Armstrong C-4 with D activator, available from Armstrong products in Warsaw, Ind.

The thin diamond film of the of the present invention may be made by a novel direct-current-assisted chemical vapor deposition process. This process may be carried out in a tubular CVD reactor which will be disclosed in connection with FIG. 5, although those of ordinary skill in the art may be able to use other apparatus without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a tubular CVD reactor suitable for carrying out the process of the present invention is depicted. The tubular reactor vessel 40, which may be fabricated from quartz as is known in the art, has upper flange 42 and lower flange 44, which may both be assembled onto tubular reactor vessel 40 and vacuum sealed. Tubular reactor vessel 40 may be surrounded by a clam-shell or split-shell furnace. The walls of the furnace are shown diagrammatically at reference numeral 46.

A vacuum pump 48 communicates with the inside of tubular reactor vessel 40 via a line 50 which passes through lower flange 44. Pressure transducer 52 communicates with line 50 and drives vacuum controller 54, which, in turn, drives valve 56. Pressure transducer 52, vacuum controller 54 and valve 56 together form a feedback loop in the conventional manner for maintaining a selected level of pressure inside of tubular reactor vessel 40.

A substrate 58, onto which the thin diamond film will be deposited, is held on substrate holder 60 which is electrically connected to a source of positive voltage (shown by the +sign at reference numeral 62) via a member 64, which passes through upper flange 42. A thermocouple 66 is placed in contact with substrate 58 and is electrically coupled to temperature controller 68. The feedback loop including thermocouple 66 and temperature controller 68 is well known and controls the power supply (not shown) of the furnace to maintain the desired substrate temperature in the conventional manner.

A gas delivery system includes a gas delivery vessel 70, which has a plenum portion 72 and a line portion 74. Gas delivery vessel 70 may be made from quartz. The depth of plenum portion 72 is selected to assure uniform gas distribution across the substrate 58 surface. For a four inch substrate in a six inch diameter reactor vessel, a depth of 1.75 inches has been found to be satisfactory. Plenum portion 72 is covered by gas delivery nozzle 76. Gas delivery nozzle 76 is electrically connected to a source of negative voltage (shown by the minus or "-" sign at reference numeral 78).

Gas delivery nozzle 76 may be made from vacuum compatible materials, and is preferable molybdenum. It has a plurality of holes through it for delivering a uniform flow of reactant gasses into tubular reactor vessel 40 and to the surface of substrate 58. The size and spacing of the holes will affect the operation of the process. Holes which are too large will cause the hollow cathode effect, and holes which are too small will be difficult to machine and will require undesireably high pressure gas sources. Holes about 0,015 inches in diameter, placed in a hexagonal close packed array pattern about 0.170 inches on a side have been found to be adequate for use in the present invention. The hexagonal pattern should extend over an area slightly larger than that of the substrate 58 in order to eliminate edge effects in the deposition.

Before commencing the process, the substrate 58 is secured to the substrate holder 60 and in contact with the thermocouple 66. The upper and lower flanges 42 and 44 are then sealed to the tubular reactor vessel 40. The vacuum pump 48 is started, the furnace is turned on, and the flow of the hydrogen gas is started.

The continuous thin diamond film of the present invention is fabricated using a two-stage growth process. According to a presently-preferred embodiment a first growth phase commences after the pressure has stabilized to between about 20 to 30 Torr, preferably about 25 Torr and the temperature has stabilized to between about 600.degree. to 800.degree., preferably about 725.degree. C. (higher temperatures are believed to cause larger crystal grain size and/or the formation and incorporation of graphite), and after the voltage supply connected to the electrodes 62 and 78 is turned on to initiate the plasma.

The total power supplied during the first growth stage is supplied at a typical voltage of about 300 v. The current is controlled, leaving the voltage as a derivative parameter. Current density at the substrate 58 should be sufficiently high that acceptable growth rates are obtained but less than that at which nucleation density becomes too sparse to form the fully-coalesced or continuous films of the desired thickness because of the formation of large individual crystals. According to a presently preferred embodiment, a current density of between about 1 to 3.3.times.10.sup.-2 amps/cm.sup.2, preferably about 2.2.times.10.sup.31 2 amps/cm.sup.2 should be supplied over the area of the substrate 58.

Once the temperature has again stabilized, the gas flow is started. Gas delivery flow rates appropriate for the present invention should lie between upper and lower limits. Setting of the lower limit is a practical matter, and is based upon the desire to obtain a reasonable deposition rate. For example, it is believed that a flow rate of 10 sccm or less would result in an unduly long deposition duration for production of films on a four inch substrate. The upper limit is determined by film quality. It is believed that rates of above about 500 sccm will give rise to undesirable structures on a four inch substrate.

Total gas pressure should be sufficiently high that a stable DC plasma can be initiated and sustained between the substrate and the gas delivery nozzle 76, but not so high that superheating of the gas delivery nozzle 76 occurs due to ion bombardment with the consequent formation of graphite.

According to a presently preferred embodiment, a total gas flow rate of about 100 sccm has been found to be satisfactory. It is critical that the deposition of the thin diamond film be carried out in two stages, the supply of the gaseous carbon source during the first stage occurring under conditions sufficient to ensure deposition of microcrystalline diamond, so that nucleation appropriate to attainment of the objective of the invention is achieved. Methane is presently preferred as a carbon source.

It has been found that gas purity affects pinhole defect density. Consequently, methane gas having fewer than 5 ppm of nitrogen should be used. Other gaseous hydrocarbon compounds, such as ethylene, ethane, benzene, etc., can be used. In addition, non hydrocarbon carbon sources such as carbon monoxide and other similar compounds may be used.

During the first growth stage, the gas concentration should be about 2 to 10 volume percent methane, preferably about 5 volume percent methane. The first growth stage is preferably carried out for about 4 to 8 hours.

After the first growth stage has been completed, the second growth stage commences. Pressure during the second growth stage may be between about 25 to 50 Torr, preferably about 40 Torr. Current density across the substrate 58 during the second growth stage should be between about 2.2 to 8.8.times.10.sup.-2 amps/cm.sup.2, preferably about 4.4.times.10.sup.-2 amps/cm.sup.2. The gas concentration during the second growth stage should be between about 0.2 to 1.0 volume percent methane. The second growth stage should proceed for a time sufficient to achieve the desired film thickness. For the above conditions, an 8 hour first stage followed by a 20 hour second growth stage will produce a film having a thickness of about 4,000 .ANG.. The growth rate will be approximately 60 .ANG.per hour.

While embodiments and applications of this invention have been shown and described, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that many more modifications than mentioned above are possible without departing from the inventive concepts herein. The invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except in the spirit of the appended claims.