Ni-diamond interactions

Abstract The interactions between evaporated Ni films and diamond substrates have been investigated for heat spreading applications. It was found that the Ni film deposited on single crystal diamond substrates at room temperature under conventional vacuum condition re-aligns epitaxially after annealing at 750 °C in a forming gas ambient. The realignment process is believed to initiate with the formation of epitaxial interfacial NiC layer. For chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond substrates, reactions occur at temperatures as low as 600 °C, forming various carbides in the layer. All epitaxially realigned and reacted Ni films adhere firmly to the substrate, thus serving as a metallized-glu e layer for die-attaching semiconductor chips.