Synthesis of diamond films by pulsed liquid injection chemical vapor deposition using a mixture of acetone and water as precursor

A chemical vapor deposition reactor based on the flash evaporation of an organic liquid precursor was used to grow diamond films on Si substrates. An effective pulsed liquid injection mechanism consisting of an injector, normally used for fuel injection in internal combustion engines, injects micro-doses of the precursor to the evaporation zone at 280 °C and is instantly evaporated. The resulting vapor mixture is transported by a carrier gas to the high-temperature reaction chamber where the diamond nucleates and grows on the substrate surface at temperatures ranging from 750 to 850 °C. The injection frequency, opening time, number of pulses and other injector parameters are controlled by a computer-driven system. The diamond film morphology and structure were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. The as-deposited diamond films show a ball-shaped morphology with a grain size that varies from 100 to 400 nm, as well as the characteristic diamond Raman band at 1332 cm^− 1. The effects of the experimental parameters and operation principle on the diamond films quality are analyzed and discussed in terms of crystallinity, composition, structure, and morphology.