A comparative Raman study of thermal stability of amorphous diamond films deposited with different substrate bias

This paper describes thermal stability of amorphous diamond films deposited using a filtered arc as a function of the substrate bias using a comparative Raman investigation. The thermal stability decreases with increasing substrate bias. The films with the richest sp3 content might not have the best thermal stability. Annealing results in an upward shift and a narrowing of the G-peak. Visible Raman can provide a powerful way to follow the evolution and ordering of sp2 sites in the films.