FULLERENE PRECURSOR LOW TEMPERATURE DIAMOND FILM DEPOSITION ON ELECTRONIC SUBSTRATES

THERMAL MANAGEMENT IS ONE OF THE CRITICAL ASPECTS IN THE DESIGN OF THE 2- AND 3-DIMENSIONAL MULTICHIP MODULES (MCMS) TO ENSURE RELIABILITY AT INCREASED FUNCTIONAL DENSITIES IN ELECTRONIC DEVICES. DIAMOND HAS THE HIGHEST KNOWN THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY AND YET IS AN ELECTRICAL INSULATOR. HIGH QUALITY DIAMOND FILMS ARE DEPOSITED ON HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY METAL MATRIX COMPOSITE HEAT SINKS WHICH ALLOWS POWDER DISSIPATION OF SEVERAL HUNDREDS OF WATTS IN THE ADVANCE MCM PACKAGING CONCEPTS. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN FULLERENE CHEMISTRY SHOW THAT THE CARBON ATOMS IN THE PENTAGONS OF THE SPHEROIDAL MOLECULES OF C60, C70, ETC., ARE PREDOMINANTLY SP(3) HYBRIDIZED AND ARE STERICALLY FAIRLY CLOSE TO THE DIAMOND. RESEARCHERS DEMONSTRATED THAT A SMALL AMOUNT OF REARRANGEMENT OF THESE ATOMS IN HIGHLY ENERGETIC PLASMA CAN RESULT IN TRANSFORMATION OF FULLERENES INTO DIAMOND. THIS UNIQUE FULLERENE VAPOR PHASE PRECURSOR PROCESS IS DEMONSTRATED AND OPTIMIZED TO PRODUCE WELL-BONDED, HIGH-QUALITY, THIN AND THICK DIAMOND FILMS AT VERY HIGH GROWTH RATES AND AT LOW TEMPERATURES ON THE MMC AND OTHER ELECTRONIC SUBSTRATES. SINGLE HYBRID AND MAGNETICALLY ENHANCED PLASMA SYSTEMS ARE BEING INVESTIGATED ALONG WITH DIFFERENT PLASMA GAS CHEMISTRIES TO PRODUCE POLYCRYSTALLINE DIAMOND FILMS AS WELL AS FREE STANDING FILMS OF GEOLOGICAL SIZE AND QUALITY DIAMOND.