DIAMOND NUCLEATION AND GROWTH ON REACTIVE TRANSITION-METAL SUBSTRATES

Diamond deposition on group VIII transition metals of Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and Ni has been achieved by a multi-step chemical vapor deposition pro cess consisting of (i) seeding the substrate with diamond powders, (ii ) annealing the seeded substrate in hydrogen at high temperatures, and (iii) diamond nucleation and growth, It was found that high quality d iamond can be grown on these substrates, and the often accompanied gra phite formation, which has been the main obstacle in the deposition of diamond on these metal surfaces, can be largely suppressed by the abo ve step-deposition procedure. This technique was further extended to t he processes of depositing diamond on steels and Co-bonded WC material s.