A comparison of diamond growth rate using in-liquid and conventional plasma chemical vapor deposition methods

In order to make high-speed deposition of diamond effective, diamond growth rates for gas-phase microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition and in-liquid microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition are compared. A mixed gas of methane and hydrogen is used as the source gas for the gas-phase deposition, and a methanol solution of ethanol is used as the source liquid for the in-liquid deposition. The experimental system pressure is in the range of 60-150 kPa. While the growth rate of diamond increases as the pressure increases, the amount of input microwave energy per unit volume of diamond is 1 kW h/mm3 regardless of the method used. Since the in-liquid deposition method provides a superior cooling effect through the evaporation of the liquid itself, a higher electric input power can be applied to the electrodes under higher pressure environments. The growth rate of in-liquid microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition process is found to be greater than conventional gas-phase microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition process under the same pressure conditions.