Effect of hydrogenation, low energy ion irradiation and annealing on hydrogen bonding to polycrystalline diamond surface studied by high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy

The effects of different processes of hydrogenation, thermal treatment and ion irradiation of hydrogenated polycrystalline diamond surface have been investigated by means of high resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HR-EELS). Analysis of the different contributions in the CH stretching, overtones and combination modes, as well as changes in relative intensities of the diamond CC and CH x related vibrations allowed us to identify the CH x adsorbed species on the diamond surface following the different treatments. Ex-situ hydrogenation of diamond surface by means of exposure to H-MW plasma results in a fully hydrogenated well-ordered diamond surface and etching of the amorphous phase located on the grain boundaries present on the sample after CVD-deposition. Annealing this surface to 600 °C results in some subtle changes in the HR-EELS, probably associated with decomposition of CH x (x = 2,3) adsorbed species. Ion irradiation on the surface induces partial desorption of hydrogen from the diamond phase and a large amount of amorphous defects, some of them of sp and the most of them of sp 2 character. Annealing to 600-700 °C of the irradiated surface leads to hydrogen desorption. In-situ hydrogenation of the irradiated and annealed sample does not restore the diamond structure, and results in hydrogenated amorphous surface, unstable with thermal annealing above 600-700 °C.