The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 06, 1998
Filed:
May. 08, 1991
Keith A Snail, Silver Spring, MD (US);
The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, DC (US);
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).