Single crystal diamond is a promising ultra-wide band-gap material. Epitaxial lateral outgrowth using microwave plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition has shown promise towards synthesizing large size high quality single crystal diamond, but growth of this material is a continued challenge. This work explores the growth dynamics of single crystal diamond in a constrained system, namely a pocket holder, used to suppress the formation of polycrystalline diamond. Results demonstrate significant and reproducible effects of the pocket design on growth behavior and growth morphologies, with strong positive correlations observed between pocket dimensions and epitaxial outgrowth fronts. Enhanced growth rates at the leading edge of epitaxial lateral outgrowth are also observed. Internal structure of grown samples mapped by scanning x-ray rocking curve measurement reveal outgrown regions are consistently lower quality despite the smooth morphology. This result is compared with the growth rates of the top surface and edges which shows a strong correlation between growth rate and crystal quality. Traditional pocket holders are shown to constrain ELO in a 1st order exponential decay fashion in previous work and the lateral size of as grown diamond has an upper limit subject to its holder configurations. As an upgraded research project, this research will include the SCD grown by MPACVD in a series of angled holders designed to achieve better ELO and to maintain a good lateral growth rate. The growth using angled holders from wider pocket to narrower pocket, respectively results in larger size ELO with PCD growth, appropriate smooth ELO growth at constant lateral growth rate, and inward lateral growth. Constant lateral growth is reproduced by iterative growth using regrowth angled holder. Larger area SCD are thus grown by MPACVD with constant vertical rate about 25 um/hr, 100 lateral rate about 18 um/hr, and 110 lateral rate about 12 um/hr. All as grown samples are measured with x-ray rocking curve (XRC) mapping technique to reveal the crystallographic structural properties, and compared to the original substrates. Diamond 400 crystal plane curvature/flatness and morphology, XRC FWHM of 400/113/111 diamond peaks are plotted using self-made analytical software to compare the quality revolution before and after the growth. Quantitative birefringence (QB) maps and cross polar birefringence (CPB) photos are also taken to present the internal crystal structural defect within the CVD diamond.XRC mapping results show that growth using wider angled pocket, though with PCD rims, has better flatness (small curvature) and higher average structural quality (small FWHM); growth with intermediate pocket, with pure SCD growth, also has a good lateral growth behavior, with intermediate crystal morphology and intermediate structural quality; growth using smaller pocket results area shrink, but with larger crystal plane curvature, indicating the SCD is compressed due to the smaller size of the pocket. Thus, an intermediate choice would be the best way for iterative SCD growth to maintain the lateral growth rate and the crystal quality at the same time. In summary, the technique of growing CVD single crystal diamond using a pocket holder provides the possibility for the diamond to keep growing at a constant lateral growth rate in both 100 and 110 directions along with a constant vertical growth rate. The iterative growth strategies also illustrate this unlimited growth mode and crystal structural quality of such as grown CVD diamonds are characterized by novel established measurement techniques. Under such way, larger area and high quality single crystal CVD diamond can be grown by using Microwave Plasma Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition.
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