Analysis and modeling of residual stress in diamond thin film deposited by the hot-filament chemical vapor deposition process

The effect of microstructure on residual stress in diamond thin film was investigated. The diamond thin film was deposited by the hot filament chemical vapor deposition process with hydrogen/methane precursor gas and followed by annealing at 1150 °C for 1–30 min. The residual stresses of the diamond thin film were measured by Raman spectroscopy. A model to estimate the residual stress was proposed on the basis of grain boundary relaxation mechanism and microstructural analysis of diamond thin film. It is confirmed that the residual stress in diamond thin film is proportional to a microstructural factor, 1/ [D( f + 1)]^1/2, where D is the grain size of diamond and f is the volume ratio of nondiamond carbon/diamond.