XPS ANALYSIS OF THE SI SUBSTRATE SURFACE PRETREATMENT FOR DIAMOND FILM DEPOSITION

X.P.S. at various electron take-off angles of the Si 2p and Auger KLL core energy levels, for "scratched" and "unscratched" monocrystalline Si (100) surfaces, has been performed to investigate the causes of diamond nucleation enhancement. Subtle changes in the Si and in the thin Si-oxide overlayer spectra have been observed. In addition, the intensity oscillations due to the emitted electron diffraction and focusing effects, usually occurring for monocrystalline materials, have been observed and found to be considerably damped for the "scratched" sample surfaces. These experimental observations suggest that the overall effect of the "scratching" may be associated with the creation of a certain degree of atomic disorder at the Si substrate surface. The microroughness created by this pretreatment may provide Si dangling bond configurations, otherwise not present or available at the Si (100) or (111) surfaces, suitable to match the C diamond tetrahedra