Nanocrystalline diamond films prepared by pulsed electron beam ablation on different substrates

Nanocrystalline diamond films have been deposited by pulsed electron beam ablation from a single target and on different substrates at room temperature and under argon background gas at 0.5 Pa. The films have been deposited from a highly ordered pyrolytic graphite target on four different substrate materials, which include silicon, stainless steel, sapphire, and cubic boron nitride. Based on experimental measurement data, obtained from various analytical techniques, it has been observed that sp3 bonded carbon content, grain size, film roughness, and nanocrystalline fraction of the films do not seem to be much affected by the type of substrate material used. The thickness of the films, in the range of ∼70–90 nm, seems to be relatively the same irrespective of the substrate material. Hardness measurements have shown that film hardness, ranging between 18.5 and 19.5 GPa, is not remarkably influenced by the type of substrate material.