Diamond Chemical Vapor Deposition: Emerging technology for tooling applications

This chapter is about the new technology of Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) of diamond films. The ability to deposit thin diamond coatings on several substrate materials and, also, the growth of free-standing diamond pieces opened a wide panorama of applications, including the area of superhard tools. We present a brief but comprehensive review of the science and technology of CVD diamond, with focus on the use of halogen precursors in the gas phase. The new growth method of Surface Wave Assisted CVD is reviewed among the other conventional ones. The problem of film adherence on WC-Co tool inserts is considered and the good perspectives to obtain a tough diamond tool is shown. Free-standing diamond tools are also presented with particular attention to the CVD diamond burrs for dentistry applications.