Nucleation and bulk film growth kinetics of nanocrystalline diamond prepared by microwave plasmaenhanced chemical vapor deposition on silicon substrates Early stages of diamond growth by chemicalvapor deposition monitored both by electron spectroscopies and microstructural probesThe initial stages of diamond growth on nickel have been studied by in situ electron-excited soft x-ray emission spectroscopy. The study has been able to clarify that the codeposition of ordered graphite at the substrate/film interface is due to carbon precipitation during the cooling-down period after the deposition. The possibility to follow a deposition process from the initial stages to the end with soft x-ray emission spectroscopy is also demonstrated.