High-temperature epitaxy of diamond in a turbulent flame

Abstract Diamond has been grown epitaxially on 1.5 mm diameter, natural diamond seed crystals at temperatures of 1200–1300 °C in a premixed, turbulent oxyacetylene flame. During a typical 1 h deposition, a polyhedral-shaped single crystal was observed to grow on top of a 〈100〉 oriented cylindrical seed crystal. The growth surface is composed of both {100} terraces and {110} ridges, arranged into well-formed pyramidal shaped structures with very long range order. Raman analyses show a lack of non-diamond carbon and a 1332 cm −1 peak which is indistinguishable from natural type IIa diamond. Low-temperature photoluminescence measurements indicate a greatly reduced level of localized radiative defects. Laue X-ray diffraction measurements have confirmed the epitaxial nature of the deposit, and preliminary X-ray rocking curve analyses are presented. This is the first report of the high-temperature epitaxial growth of diamond in a turbulent flame.