A review of the industrial applications of CVD diamond

摘要

Recent progress in the development of diamond synthesized by Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) has made it possible to manufacture very high quality polycrystalline diamond components of large dimensions where the purity and microstructure are tightly controlled. By making this new type of diamond material available, CVD technology has therefore removed one of the major obstacles to the use of diamond (the lack of a source of diamond material of large size and controlled purity). This paper by R.S. Sussmann, J.R Brandon, S.E Coe , J.L. Collins and A.J. Whitechead presents an up-date on recent developments in the use and characterization of CVD diamond.We have described in some detail several applications of CVD diamond which serve to illustrate why there is an increasing interest in this material in different sectors of industry and technology. These have included: low loss windows for nuclear fusion experiments, cutting tools and radiation sensors for use in high energy physics and medical dosimetry.There are, in addition to these, numerous other possible applications for CVD diamond, some already used commercially, others in the early stages of development. These include: windows or filters for the infrared and X-ray beam lines of synchrotrons (8), broadband infrared bean splitters for Fourier transform spectroscopy (40), Attenuated Total Reflection (ATR) prisms for IR spectroscopy in on-line process control and laboratory analysis (41), substrates for the heat management of high-power laser diodes and laser diode arrays (42), corrosion-free electrodes for electrochemistry reactions (43) and surgical blades (44).What has made it possible to address all of these applications has been the development of robust and efficient synthesis and processing technologies for the manufacture of CVD diamond of different grades with a very high degree of control and reproducibility. This has increased the confidence of end-users in CVD diamond as a robust engineering material capable of offering solutions to very challenging technological problems. CVD diamond is now an additional material in the wide range of diamond products in the Debid portfolio.