X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy studies of CVD diamond films

In this research work, a comparative x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis has been performed on three allotropic carbon materials i.e. amorphous carbon films, graphite crystals and chemically vapour deposited (CVD) diamond films. These studies have shown that XPS is one of the most powerful techniques used to distinguish the diamond phase of carbon from the graphite and amorphous carbon components. In these investigations, particular attention has been paid to the effects of the post-deposition surface treatment on the diamond surfaces and the corresponding spectrum changes. The experimental results confirmed that ion surface cleaning destroys the original carbon atomic bonding configuration and implants argon atoms into the sample surface. The main spectral changes for amorphous carbon, graphite and diamond materials after the ion etching process can be attributed to bonding modification and the existence of argon contamination on the sample surfaces.