NANO- AND MICROSTRUCTURAL FEATURES IN CVD DIAMOND GROWTH

摘要

Early growth stage of CVD diamond is considered emphasizing the importance the substrate seeding with nanometric diamond for high nucleation rate and deposition of thin conformal films on flat and intricate surfaces. Structural aspects of the films are characterized with TEM and Raman analysis. The data on thermal conductivity and stability of polycrystalline diamond at high temperatures are given, and the role of grain boundaries is considered. Shaping of CVD diamond by a molding technique is described. The examples of growth of micron-scale pyramids, gratings, spheres, as well as making holes with extremely high aspect ratio are presented. Synthesis of "diamond opal" - a three-dimensional diamond replica of periodic porous opal illustrates the unique capability of the molding transfer method. Potential applications of mictrostructured diamond in optics and field emission are discussed.