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Atomic Scale Analysis of Planar Defects in Polycrystalline Diamond

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 October 2006

Rolf Erni
Affiliation:
FEI Electron Optics, PO Box 80066, 5600 KA Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Bert Freitag
Affiliation:
FEI Electron Optics, PO Box 80066, 5600 KA Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Peter Hartel
Affiliation:
CEOS GmbH, Englerstr. 28, D-69126 Heidelberg, Germany
Heiko Müller
Affiliation:
CEOS GmbH, Englerstr. 28, D-69126 Heidelberg, Germany
Peter Tiemeijer
Affiliation:
FEI Electron Optics, PO Box 80066, 5600 KA Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Michiel van der Stam
Affiliation:
FEI Electron Optics, PO Box 80066, 5600 KA Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Mike Stekelenburg
Affiliation:
FEI Electron Optics, PO Box 80066, 5600 KA Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Dominique Hubert
Affiliation:
FEI Electron Optics, PO Box 80066, 5600 KA Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Petra Specht
Affiliation:
Materials Science Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California, One Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
Vincente Garibay-Febles
Affiliation:
Programma de Ingeniería Molecular, Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo, C.P. 07730 México D.F., México
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Abstract

Planar defects in a polycrystalline diamond film were studied by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and high-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). In both modes, sub-Ångström resolution was achieved by making use of two aberration-corrected systems; a TEM and a STEM CS-corrected microscope, each operated at 300 kV. For the first time, diamond in 〈110〉 zone-axis orientation was imaged in STEM mode at a resolution that allows for resolving the atomic dumbbells of carbon at a projected interatomic distance of 89 pm. Twin boundaries that show approximately the Σ3 CSL structure reveal at sub-Ångström resolution imperfections; that is, local distortions, which break the symmetry of the ideal Σ3 type twin boundary, are likely present. In addition to these imperfect twin boundaries, voids on the atomic level were observed. It is proposed that both local distortions and small voids enhance the mechanical toughness of the film by locally increasing the critical stress intensity factor.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 2006 Microscopy Society of America

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References

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