Growth of atomically step-free surface on diamond {111} mesas

Abstract Diamond homoepitaxy by microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition was investigated on {111} substrate. Growth at a low CH4/H2 ratio of 0.025% in a gas phase results in the formation of an atomically step-free surface over 10 × 10-µm2 mesas of diamond {111} substrate, when there are no screw dislocations in the mesas. This was achieved through ideal lateral growth, in which two-dimensional terrace nucleation was completely suppressed. The application of the selective formation of the step-free surface and the lateral growth of diamond films will open the way for the realization of high-quality electronic devices using diamond.