Comparative fractography of chemical vapor and combustion deposited diamond films

Abstract

Polycrystalline diamond films of several thicknesses have been fractured by manual bending and examined by scanning electron microscopy. These films have been deposited in controlled environments at low pressures by chemical vapor deposition and in ambient atmosphere with an oxygen-acetylene torch. Fracture surfaces in the low pressure depositions exhibit cleavage steps across the grains. These surfaces, independent of thickness, are primarily transgranular, attesting to the inherent strength of the deposits. However, the ambient deposited diamond has primarily intergranular fracture indicative of weak grain boundaries. Internal defects, observed with transmission electron microscopy, such as twins, stacking faults, and dislocations, occur generally in both types of deposition with no apparent preference for location or type of deposition.