Emanation thermal analysis was used to characterize the thermal behavior of boron-doped diamond polycrystalline film samples prepared by microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition. The mobility of radon atoms in the diamond film samples was evaluated from the emanation thermal analysis results. From the diffusion structural diagnostics achieved by evaluating the emanation thermal analysis results it followed that the O-plasma treatment of the sample enhanced the mobility of radon atoms in the range of 50 to 200C, due to both structure disordering and removal of graphitic carbon. The structure disordering was suggested by the high-resolution XPS results. From the diffusion structural diagnostics data it followed that the annealing of the structure irregularities in the polycrystalline diamond films took place in the range of 250 to 450C, the annealing was more intense for the O-plasma-treated sample compared to the H-plasma-treated one, due mostly to the initially greater degree of structure irregularities.

Diffusion Structural Diagnostics of Polycrystalline Boron-Doped Diamond Films. Balek, V., Rao, T.N., Tryk, D.A., Fujishima, A.: Thermochimica Acta, 2011, 524[1-2], 104-8