Method and apparatus for in-situ solid state doping of CVD diamonds and diamonds so made

Abstract

The method of the present invention includes placing a solid dopant in or near the nozzle of a DC arc jet. According to one embodiment of the invention, the interior surface of an arc jet nozzle is coated with a layer of copper by brushing the surface with a copper brush. According to another embodiment of the invention, the interior surface of an arc jet nozzle is coated with a layer of copper by plating it with copper. According to another embodiment of the invention, a copper cylinder is placed inside an arc jet nozzle. Apparatus according to the invention include a DC arc jet with a solid dopant placed in or near the nozzle according to one of the methods described. Diamonds according to the invention are conductive diamonds formed by a plasma jet process where a solid dopant was placed in or near the nozzle according to one of the methods described. According to the invention, the conductivity of the diamonds formed with these methods and apparatus is controlled by varying the surface area of the solid dopant. By increasing the surface area, the amount of dopant material contained in the diamond will be increased. High conductivity diamonds can be cut to size by electrical discharge milling or machining (EDM).

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.