Very high growth rate chemical vapor deposition of single-crystal diamond.

Yan, Chih-Shiue; Vohra, Yogesh K; Mao, Ho-Kwang; Hemley, Russell J · Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · 2002

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

Diamond possesses extraordinary material properties, a result that has given rise to a broad range of scientific and technological applications. This study reports the successful production of high-quality single-crystal diamond with microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) techniques. The diamond single crystals have smooth, transparent surfaces and other characteristics identical to that of high-pressure, high-temperature synthetic diamond. In addition, the crystals can be produced at growth rates from 50 to 150 mum/h, which is up to 2 orders of magnitude higher than standard processes for making polycrystalline MPCVD diamond. This high-quality single-crystal MPCVD diamond may find numerous applications in electronic devices as high-strength windows and in a new generation of high-pressure instruments requiring large single-crystal anvils.