INCREASED DEPOSITION RATE OF CHEMICALLY VAPOR-DEPOSITED DIAMOND IN A DIRECT-CURRENT ARCJET WITH A SECONDARY DISCHARGE

A secondary discharge was used to enhance chemical nonequilibrium in the boundary layer of a stagnation point flow reactor during the atmospheric pressure deposition of chemically vapor deposited (CVD) diamond with a direct-current (dc) arcjet. The secondary discharge was induced by means of a positive potential on the deposition surface to drive a current through the boundary layer and produce energetic electrons. These electrons can promote superequilibrium concentrations of radicals at the growth surface. It was found that with 3.5 A/cm2 at 115 V in the secondary discharge, the growth rate of diamond in this reactor increased by a factor of 6 as compared with the floating or grounded substrate case.© 1995 American Institute of Physics.