Early stages of nucleation and growth of diamond film by AES, SEM, UPS and optical reflectivity techniques: Surface composition

We have investigated the morphology, chemical bonds and electronic states of CVD carbon grown on silicon (1 1 1) substrates by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) and optical reflectivity. Both AES and UPS techniques show variations in the observed spectra if referred to samples at different stages of growth. The optical reflectivity technique has also been used in order to study the diamond-substrate interface and to quantify the film thickness.