Routes towards large area, low pressure nanodiamond growth via pulsed microwave linear antenna plasma chemistry
ABSTRACTCurrent experimental configurations for MW PECVD diamond growth do not allow simple up-scaling towards large areas, which is essential for microelectronic industries and other applications. Another important issue is the reduction of the substrate temperature during diamond growth to enhance the compatibility with wafer processing technologies. Such advantages are provided by MW-linear antenna (LA) plasma applicators, allowing a scalable concept for diamond growing plasmas. In the present work we introduce a novel construction of LA MW applicators designed for nanodiamond growth by using plasmas ranging from continuous wave (CW) to high repetition rates pulsed modes (up to 20 kHz) which advantages are discussed in detail.