Diamond nucleation on nickel substrates seeded with non-diamond carbon

Oriented diamond films have been nucleated on single crystal nickel substrates seeded with non-diamond carbon and annealed at high temperatures in atomic hydrogen. The non-diamond carbon seeds included graphite powders, fullerene (60) powders, and gaseous carbon species. It was found that these different non-diamond carbon powders or species were effective in the enhancement of oriented nucleation of diamond. The morphologies of diamond films were similar regardless of the types of carbon used, suggesting a common nucleation mechanism involved. Based on the experimental observations, a revised model was developed for the oriented nucleation of diamond on Ni.