DEPOSITION AND PROPERTIES OF DIAMOND THIN-FILMS

Owing to a combination of several excellent intrinsic properties, diamond is the ideal material for a wide range of technical applications, from cutting tool coatings to high power, high temperature semiconductor devices. More than 20 years after Eversole's demonstration of the feasibility of diamond growth under conditions of thermodynamic metastability, intensive world-wide research activities emerged, aiming at the development and improvement of processes for the deposition of diamond thin films. This paper ives a short account of the important deposition methods known at present and discusses, as examples, several film properties and applications.