In this paper, we present experimental results regarding the growth of nitrogen-incorporated diamond films grown by employing a microwave plasma CVD method. For grown films, cathodoluminescence (CL) characteristics are examined in terms of growth conditions, such as gas mixture (N2/(CH4+H2)) ratio and microwave power. From the CL characteristics the relative intensity of the so called band-A (related to a dislocation, IA) centered at 430 nm to the nitrogen-related band (IN), which is composed of two peaks centered at 578 nm (related to a nitrogen-vacancy complex) and at 637 nm (related to a vacancy trapped at a substitutional nitrogen site). The effect of oxygen, which is added during diamond growth, on the CL property is also investigated. In addition, the Raman spectra, XRD patterns, and field-emission SEM morphologies are analyzed for all the films grown.

Keywords: diamond film, nitrogen incorporation, cathodoluminescence, band-A emission, nitrogen-related band