Study of CVD diamond layers with amorphous carbon admixture by Raman scattering spectroscopy

Raman spectroscopy is a most often used standard technique for characterization of different carbon materials. In this work we present the Raman spectra of polycrystalline diamond layers of different quality, synthesized by Hot Filament Chemical Vapor Deposition method (HF CVD). We show how to use Raman spectroscopy for the analysis of the Raman bands to determine the structure of diamond films as well as the structure of amorphous carbon admixture. Raman spectroscopy has become an important technique for the analysis of CVD diamond films. The first-order diamond Raman peak at ca. 1332 cm⁻¹ is an unambiguous evidence for the presence of diamond phase in the deposited layer. However, the existence of non-diamond carbon components in a CVD diamond layer produces several overlapping peaks in the same wavenumber region as the first order diamond peak. The intensities, wavenumber, full width at half maximum (FWHM) of these bands are dependent on quality of diamond layer which is dependent on the deposition conditions. The aim of the present work is to relate the features of diamond Raman spectra to the features of Raman spectra of non-diamond phase admixture and occurrence of other carbon structures in the obtained diamond thin films.