The preparation and characterization of low surface roughness (111) and (100) natural diamonds by hydrogen plasma

Natural doped (100) and (111) diamond surfaces were polished in a hydrogen plasma at 870°C and 40 mbar and analyzed by AFM, LEED and X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD). The initial surface roughness of 7 nm (rms) is decreased to 1 nm on the (111) surface and a 2 × 1 LEED pattern is observed after...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSurface science Vol. 337; no. 1; pp. L812 - L818
Main Authors Küttel, Olivier M., Diederich, Léon, Schaller, Eliane, Carnal, Olivier, Schlapbach, Louis
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Lausanne Elsevier B.V 20.08.1995
Amsterdam Elsevier Science
New York, NY
Subjects
Atomic force microscopy
Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties
Diamond
Exact sciences and technology
Low index single crystal surfaces
Photoelectron diffraction
Physics
Plasma processing
Solid surfaces and solid-solid interfaces
Surface roughening
Surface structure and topography
Surfaces and interfaces; thin films and whiskers (structure and nonelectronic properties)
Atomic force microscopy
Diamond
Surface roughening
Plasma processing
Low index single crystal surfaces
Photoelectron diffraction
Plasma
Surface reconstruction
Annealing
Diamonds
Roughness
Surface treatments
Etching
Experimental study
Surface structure
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Summary:Natural doped (100) and (111) diamond surfaces were polished in a hydrogen plasma at 870°C and 40 mbar and analyzed by AFM, LEED and X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPD). The initial surface roughness of 7 nm (rms) is decreased to 1 nm on the (111) surface and a 2 × 1 LEED pattern is observed after annealing at 1000°. After etching the (100) surface has a roughness of 0.8 nm and shows a sharp 2 × 1 LEED pattern which is even stable in air without annealing. XPD measurements indicate that the quality of the top surface layer (30 Å) is increased considerably by the etching and annealing process. Exposing the surfaces to atomic hydrogen produced by a heated filament leads to an increase of the surface roughness comparable to what was observed on the as received sample. The often reported 1 × 1 reconstruction seems to be a consequence of a large surface roughness and is absent on smooth surfaces.
ISSN:0039-6028
1879-2758
DOI:10.1016/0039-6028(95)80041-7