Properties And Growth Of Diamond

Recent breakthroughs in the synthesis of diamond have led to increased availability at lower cost. This has spurred R&D into its characterization and application in machine tools, optical coatings, X-ray windows and light-emitting optoelectronic devices. This book draws together expertise from some 60 researchers in Europe and the USA working on bulk and thin film diamond. All fully refereed, the contributions are combined to form a highly structured volume with reviews, evaluations, tables and illustrative material, together with expert guidance to the literature.

Diamond research holds the promise of applications as diverse as machine tooling, optical coatings, X-ray windows and light-emitting optoelectronic devices. This volume contains reviews, evaluations and guidance on over 2000 sources from scientific journals on bulk and thin film diamonds.

This handbook is the most comprehensive compilation of data on the optical properties of diamond ever written. It presents a multitude of data previously for the first time in English. The author provides quick access to the most comprehensive information on all aspects of the field.

This text examines advances made in understanding the physical properties of diamond and in finding new technological applications. Coverage includes developments in the growth of thin diamond films which should have major implications for a range of industrial applications.

Recent discoveries enabling the growth of crystalline diamond by chemical vapor deposition offer the potential for a wide variety of new applications. This new book examines the state of the technology arising from these discoveries in relation to other allied materials, such as high-pressure diamond and cubic boron nitride. Most of the potential defense, space, and commercial applications are related to diamond's hardness, but some utilize its other qualities, such as optical and electronic properties. The authors review growth processes and discuss techniques for characterizing the resulting materials' properties. Crystalline diamond is emphasized, but other diamond-like materials (e.g. silicon carbide and amorphous carbon containing hydrogen) are also examined. In addition, the authors identify scientific, technical, and economic problems that could impede the rapid exploitation of these materials, and present recommendations covering broad areas of research and development.

The use of diamond for electronic applications is not a new idea. As early as the 1920's diamonds were considered for their use as photoconductive detectors. However limitations in size and control of properties naturally limited the use of diamond to a few specialty applications. With the development of diamond synthesis from the vapor phase has come a more serious interest in developing diamond-based electronic devices. A unique combination of extreme properties makes diamond partiCularly well suited for high speed, high power, and high temperature applications. Vapor phase deposition of diamond allows large area films to be deposited, whose properties can potentially be controlled. Since the process of diamond synthesis was first realized, great progress have been made in understanding the issues important for growing diamond and fabricating electronic devices. The quality of both intrinsic and doped diamond has improved greatly to the point that viable applications are being developed. Our understanding of the properties and limitations has also improved greatly. While a number of excellent references review the general properties of diamond, this volume summarizes the great deal of literature related only to electronic properties and applications of diamond. We concentrate only on diamond; related materials such as diamond-like carbon (DLC) and other wide bandgap semiconductors are not treated here. In the first chapter Profs. C. Y. Fong and B. M. Klein discuss the band structure of single-crystal diamond and its relation to electronic properties.