Atomic resolution images of hot-tungsten filament chemical-vapor-deposition (CVD) grown epitaxial diamond (100) films obtained in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) are reported. A (2x1) dimer surface reconstruction and amorphous atomic regions were observed on the hydrogen terminated (100) surface. The (2x1) unit cell was measured to be 0.51"0.01 x 0.25"0.01 nm2. The amorphous regions were identified as amorphous carbon. After CVD growth, the surface of the epitaxial films was amorphous at the atomic scale. After 2 minutes of exposure to atomic hydrogen at 30 Torr and the sample temperature at 500° C, the surface was observed to consist of amorphous regions and (2x1) dimer reconstructed regions. After 5 minutes of exposure to atomic hydrogen, the surface was observed to consist mostly of (2x1) dimer reconstructed regions. These observations support a recent model for CVD diamond growth that is based on an amorphous carbon layer that is etched or converted to diamond by atomic hydrogen. With further exposure to atomic hydrogen at 500° C, etch pits were observed in the shape of inverted pyramids with {111} oriented sides. The temperature dependence of atomic hydrogen etching of the diamond (100) surface was also investigated using UHV STM, and it was found that it was highly temperature dependent. Etching with a diamond sample temperature of 200° C produced (100) surfaces that are atomically rough with no large pits, indicating that the hydrogen etch was isotropic at 200° C. Atomic hydrogen etching of the surface with a sample temperature of 500° C produced etch-pits and vacancy islands indicating an anisotropic etch at 500° C. With a sample temperature of 1000° C during the hydrogen etch, the (100) surface was atomically smooth with no pits and few single atomic vacancies, but with vacancy rows predominantly in the direction of the dimer rows, indicating that the 1000° C etch was highly anisotropic. Raman spectroscopy was used as a temperature probe, and for determining film quality.

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