Surface characterisation of silicon substrates seeded with diamond nanoparticles under UHV annealing

The thermal stability of Ultra Dispersed Diamond on silicon surfaces has been investigated. Samples have been annealed under Ultra-High Vacuum conditions. The evolution of the carbon binding states at the surface has been monitored sequentially by XPS and XEELS. After annealing at 1173 K, sp3 seeds present initially have been significantly modified. Contrary to lower temperature, no diamond has been detected either by XPS or by FEG-SEM after a short growth step. XPS spectra indicate the formation of silicon carbide.