Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho

Yoshihiro Shintani

Koji Kobashi

Takeshi Tachibana

Koichi Miyata

Kozo Nishimura

Yoshihiro Yokota

Provided is a process for economically producing single crystal diamond film with a large surface area by gas-phase synthesis. The process comprises depositing platinum film or platinum alloy film containing more than 50 atomic % of platinum on a basal substrate with (111) or (001) surface while keeping the substrate temperature at 300.degree. C. or above, annealing the platinum or platinum alloy film at 1000.degree. C. or above, and performing the gas-phase synthesis of diamond using said platinum or platinum alloy film as the substrate.

Process for producing single crystal diamond film

A method is related to grow monocrystalline diamond films by chemical vapor deposition on large area at low cost. The substrate materials are either bulk single crystals of Pt or its alloys, or thin films of those materials deposited on suitable supporting materials. The surfaces of those substrates must be either (111) or (001), or must have domain structures consisting of (111) or (001) crystal surfaces. Those surfaces can be inclined within .+-.10 degree angles from (111) or (001). In order to increase the nucleation density of diamond, the substrate surface can be scratched by buff and/or ultrasonic polishing, or carbon implanted. Monocrystalline diamond films can be grown even though the substrate surfaces have been roughened. Plasma cleaning of substrate surfaces and annealing of Pt or its alloy films are effective in growing high quality monocrystalline diamond films.

Methods for manufacturing monocrystalline diamond films

A method is presented to manufacture substrates for growing monocrystalline diamond films by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on large area at low cost. The substrate materials are either Pt or its alloys, which have been subject to a single or multiple cycle of cleaning, roller press, and high temperature annealing processes to make the thickness of the substrate materials to 0.5 mm or less, or most preferably to 0.2 mm or less, so that either (111) crystal surfaces or inclined crystal surfaces with angular deviations within .+-.10 degrees from (111), or both, appear on the entire surfaces or at least part of the surfaces of the substrates. The annealing is carried out at a temperature above 800.degree. C. The present invention will make it possible to markedly improve various characteristics of diamond films, and hence put them into practical use.

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Tokushima, Japan

Yoshihiro Shintani