ABSTRACT
The first successful demonstration of diamond synthesis in a direct-current arc plasma jet was published in 1988. Since then, these and similar plasma jets have been widely used in diamond synthesis research circles, and have been challenging other commercial diamond chemical vapor deposition technologies in the manufacture of both thin and thick film diamond products. In an arcjet flow, the relatively high velocities that result from the expansion or acceleration process allows for a more efficient delivery of the atomic hydrogen to a substrate because of reduced boundary layer thicknesses. In arcjet deposition of diamond, pretreatment of the substrate by polishing with diamond paste is not a necessary condition for film growth, however, it greatly enhances the nucleation density. The plasma source gas-mixture is that gas mixture that flows through the discharge chamber with which the arcjet can be independently stably operated.
