  Chemical vapour deposition (CVD) grown nanocrystalline diamond is an
attractive material for the fabrication of devices. For some device
architectures, optimisation of its growth on silicon nitride is essential.
Here, the effects of three pre-growth surface treatments, often employed as
cleaning methods of silicon nitride, were investigated. Such treatments provide
control over the surface charge of the substrate through modification of the
surface functionality, allowing for the optimisation of electrostatic diamond
seeding densities. Zeta potential measurements and X-ray photoelectron
spectroscopy (XPS) were used to analyse the silicon nitride surface following
each treatment. Exposing silicon nitride to an oxygen plasma offered optimal
surface conditions for the electrostatic self-assembly of a hydrogen-terminated
diamond nanoparticle monolayer. The subsequent growth of boron-doped
nanocrystalline diamond thin films on modified silicon nitride substrates under
CVD conditions produced coalesced films for oxygen plasma and solvent
treatments, whilst pin-holing of the diamond film was observed following RCA-1
treatment. The sharpest superconducting transition was observed for diamond
grown on oxygen plasma treated silicon nitride, demonstrating it to be of the
least structural disorder. Modifications to the substrate surface optimise the
seeding and growth processes for the fabrication of diamond on silicon nitride
devices.
