High temperature, high rate, epitaxial synthesis of diamond in a laminar plasma

Abstract

A method for synthesizing large, single crystal diamond comprising mixing carbon source and a hydrogen source to form a mixture. The mixture is excited and reacted to form a reactive species in a laminar plasma plume. A substrate having a diamond seed crystal is disposed in the laminar plasma plume while maintaining the diamond seed crystal at a growth temperature between 1100.degree. and 1700.degree. C. for the deposition of diamond, thereby inducing deposition of single crystal diamond on the diamond seed crystal. An apparatus for synthesizing diamond (10;15) comprising a plasma torch (30;31) for producing a laminar plasma plume (44;54). A carbon source (CH.sub.4) and a hydrogen source (H.sub.2,CH.sub.4) are excited and reacted in the laminar plasma plume (44;54) so as to form a reactive species in the laminar plasma plume (44;54). A positioning device is used to dispose a substrate (11) having a diamond seed crystal in the laminar plasma plume (44;54), while a temperature maintaining device (12) is used to maintain the diamond seed crystal at a temperature between 1100.degree. and 1700.degree. C., thereby inducing deposition of single crystal diamond on the diamond seed crystal mounted on substrate (11).

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.