Microcracks in CVD diamond produced by scaife polishing

We investigate sub-surface damage in a CVD diamond, polished on a (110) plane using the traditional scaife method. The damage lies in tracks that consist of microcracks lying perpendicular to the polishing direction. These cracks have an irregular spacing and are comprised mainly of {111} facets. Their geometry is consistent with a modified Hertzian fracture, caused by a stick-slip movement of relatively large (micron-sized) diamond particles on the scaife. The interior surface of the cracks shows a 1 × 1 CH3 surface reconstruction, consistent with a high hydrogen overpressure that results from ingress of hydrocarbons in the polishing lubricant and a relatively low temperature process. The crack edge is ragged, and voids with sizes of a few nm are found up to hundreds of nm from the crack front, particularly where the crack ends at the polished surface. We propose that these features are evidence of significant healing of the cracks once the applied stress is removed. Luminescence at the crack tips is seen, presumably due to impurities trapped in these voids, which quenches with electron irradiation at 10 keV.