Influence of oxygen on the elastic properties of nanocrystalline diamond films studied by laser-induced surface acoustic waves.

Laser-induced surface acoustic waves (SAWs) were used to study the influence of oxygen on the elastic properties of nanocrystalline diamond films. A series of samples was grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on the (100) plane of p-type silicon for 3h under different O(2)/(CH(4)+H(2)) flow ratios from 0% to 8%. The elastic properties of these nanocrystalline diamond films were determined from the SAW dispersion curves. The maximum frequency realized was about 310 MHz in wideband SAW experiments and about 700 MHz using a narrowband mask method with several higher harmonics. It was found that the densities of all samples were surprisingly high, approaching the ideal value of diamond, whereas the Young's modulus increased from 700 to 950 GPa with the addition of oxygen. It is concluded that oxygen has a significant positive effect on the elastic properties of nanocrystalline diamond.