Stress in CVD Diamond Films: Generation, Suppression, Application, and Measurement

doi:10.15541/jim20250094

Abstract

Abstract:

Diamond with excellent properties and broad application prospects in the fields of thermal management of optics and electronic devices, and wide bandgap semiconductors, is known as the ultimate semiconductor. As an optical window, a large-sized CVD (chemical vapor deposition) diamond free-standing thick film with a thickness of ≥2 mm is required. In semiconductor heat dissipation, a diamond free-standing film with a diameter over 4 inches (1 inch=2.54 cm) and a thickness of 100 μm is required to bond with semiconductor materials such as gallium nitride (GaN). However, there still exist significant difficulties in synthesis and application of large-area CVD diamond films. On the one hand, stress during the deposition process can cause the diamond film to rupture. On the other hand, residual stress can cause the diamond film to warp, resulting in poor bonding quality. Therefore, controlling the stress of diamond films has become a key issue for the large-scale and widespread application of diamond films. This article summarizes the classification, sources, and influencing factors of CVD diamond stress, and provides a detailed introduction to measures for suppressing stress in diamond films. Furthermore, researches on improving diamond properties by artificially applying stress are summarized, including changing diamond bandgap and increasing diamond thermal conductivity under stress. Finally, a method and theoretical calculation formula for evaluating the stress magnitude of diamond are provided, and the future trend of stress research on diamond films is analyzed.

Key words: CVD diamond, film stress, stress restraint, stress application, stress measurement, review

CLC Number:

TQ174

LI Chengming, ZHOU Chuang, LIU Peng, ZHENG Liping, LAI Yongji, CHEN Liangxian, LIU Jinlong, WEI Junjun. Stress in CVD Diamond Films: Generation, Suppression, Application, and Measurement[J]. Journal of Inorganic Materials, 2025, 40(11): 1188-1200.

Figures/Tables 10

Fig. 1 Comparison of different types of defect sizes[11]

Table 1 Thermal expansion coefficients of common substrate materials[12]

Substrate material	Elastic modulus/GPa	Melting temperature/K	Coefficient of thermal expansion (polynomial interpolation)/(×10^-6, K^-1)
Si	130	1683	-2.15+2.47×10^-2T-3.82×10^-5T²+2.67×10^-8T³-6.87×10^-12T⁴
Mo	327	2888	4.31+0.002T
W	411	3660	2.78+0.01T-2.21×10^-5T²+1.93×10^-8T³-5.56×10^-12T⁴
Diamond	1050	—	-1.36+8.79×10^-3T+3.98×10^-7T²-6.18×10^-9T³+2.78×10^-12T⁴

Fig. 2 Relationship between coefficient of thermal expansion and temperature of common substrate materials[12]

Table 2 Lattice constants and lattice mismatch of diamond with various materials

Material	Si (0.543 nm)	Mo (0.3147 nm)	W (0.3165 nm)	Diamond (0.357 nm)
Lattice mismatch	34.3%	13.4%	12.8%	—

Fig. 3 Relationship between carbon ion implantation dose and stress[47]

Fig. 4 Relationship between annealing time and stress[16]

Fig. 5 Relationship between water cooling coefficient and thermal stress[58]

Fig. 6 Distribution of the total stress σtot in the system and the stress σAlSiN in the Al-Si-N intermediate layer, as well as the bottom and top stress (σbottom, σtop) of the diamond film[62]

Fig. 7 Temperature dependence of κ under uniaxial tensile stress at different scales[66]

Fig. 8 Thermal conductivity κNat and κPure of natural diamond and pure diamond varied with pressure at 300 K[67]

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