Subject diamond thin films

May, P. W. 2000 Diamond thin films a 21st-century material. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A, 358, 473-495. This gives a much more thorough and detailed scientific account of the subject. 

To conclude with the primary electrode characteristics, we describe briefly the DLC electrodes. The data are scarce and partly contradictory, probably due to the differences in film preparation methods. According to Howe [60], even films as thin as 50 nm are quite stable against corrosion. However, in later works [61, 62] such thin films turned permeable for electrolytes. The penetration of the electrolyte to a substrate metal resulted in its corrosion and, ultimately, in film peeling. Thicker films (0.1 to 1 pm) were less subjected to damage. The current-potential curves in supporting electrolytes resemble those for crystalline diamond electrodes (see Figs. 7, 8) the potential window is narrower, however [63], Fluorination of a-C H enhances corrosion resistance of the films significantly [64],... 

Considerable attention has been paid to possible mechanisms of formation since a firm understanding of this aspect could lead to the development of more effective synthetic routes to the individual fullerenes. It is also known that, when thin films of Cgo and C70 are laser-vaporized into a rapid stream of an inert gas, individual molecules of Ceo or C70 can themselves coalesce to form stable larger fullerenes such as Cno or C140, and higher multiples. Even more dramatically, when a sample of C o is subjected to a pressure of 20 GPa (i.e. 200 kbar), it apparently immediately transforms into polycrystalline diamond. 

The determination of mechanical properties of periodically re-crystallized Pt thin films has been performed using a nanoindentation test. The sample surface was subjected to a loading — unloading cycle with a Berkovich diamond tip. Using the calculation method developed by Oliver and Pharr,local measurements of both hardness H) and Young modulus E) of the thin Pt films have been carried out. 

The characterisation of both bulk and thin-film diamond phases by vibrational (chiefly Raman) spectroscopy has been the subject of a large number of publications. Carbon nitride thin films have also been extensively reported on,... 

Sections of ceramic samples are often subjected to microprobe analyses or SEM examinations with an accessory device for energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. It is essential to avoid the introduction of any elements which are intended to be measured in these examinations or which may have a disruptive influence on them. It is therefore essential to pay special attention to swarf from metal-bonded diamond wheels, composite disks, or disks made of cast iron, lead, copper, or tin, as this swarf may accumulate in pores or in the form of thin surface films. This also applies to swarf from the sample and polish residue, which may remain on the sample after final polishing with alumina, for example. 

Cubic BN powders (usually < 0.5 mm in size) are produced when hBN powders mixed with solvent powders are subjected to pressure > 5 GPa and temperatures > 1500°C for several minutes. Commercial cBN powders are mass produced in this way. For diamond synthesis by the high-pressure film method, described in Sec. IV.A.1, a thin solvent film always exists between the graphite source material and the diamond crystal produced. The formation mechanism of cBN powders is believed to be the same as that for the synthesis of diamond by the high-pressure film method, although a solvent film between the hBN source material and the cBN crystal produced has not been observed as clearly as it has been for diamond (223). 

Selection of suitable substrate materials (or buffer layers) reduces the degradation of Aims. Use of a diamond substrate hindered the peeling off of a cBN film (291). Buffer layers between a cBN film and a Si substrate, such as B-rich layers (290,325,326) and SiN layers, were reported to be effective in preventing the peeling off. The usefulness of a thin hBN interlayer is a subject of confloversy at present (282,283). 

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