AFM Study on Interface of HTHP As-grown Diamond Single Crystal and Metallic Film

The study for the interface of as-grown diamond and metallic film surrounding diamond is an attractive way for understanding diamond growth mechanism at high temperature and high pressure (HTHP), because it is that through the interface carbon atom groups from the molten film are transported to growing diamond surface. It is of great interest to perform atomic force microscopy (AFM) experiment; which provides a unique technique different from that of normal optical and electron microscopy studies, to observe the interface morphology. In the present paper, we report first that the morphologies obtained by AFM on the film are similar to those of corresponding diamond surface, and they are the remaining traces after the carbon groups moving from the film to growing diamond. The fine particles and a terrace structure with homogeneous average step height are respectively found on the diamond (100) and (111) surface. Diamond growth conditions show that its growth rates and the temperature gradients in the boundary layer of the molten film at HTHP result in the differences of surface morphologies on diamond planes, being rough on (100) plane and even on the (111) plane. The diamond growth on the (100) surface at HPHT could be considered as a process of unification of these diamond fine particles or of carbon atom groups recombination on the growing diamond crystal surface. Successive growth layer steps directly suggest the layer growth mechanism of the diamond (111) plane. The sources of the layer steps might be two-dimensional nuclei and dislocations.

Dislocation Mechanism of Diamond Crystal Growth from Fe-Ni-C System at High Temperature-High Pressure

Some dislocations, which are generated in the diamond single crystal during the diamond crystal growth from Fe-Ni-C system, may affect diamond crystal growth mode at high temperature-high pressure (HPHT). The concentric dislocation loops were successfully examined by Moire images. The surface morphologies of growing and as-grown diamond single crystals were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The concentric dislocation loops formation process and their effect on the diamond crystal growth mode were analyzed. It should be noted that whatever the nature of the dislocation is, should the Burgers vector of dislocation has a component at the direction normal to the growth interface, the dislocation will make the face parallel to the growth interface grow into spiral face. The presence of consecutive spiral steps on the diamond crystal surface also provides a direct evidence of the dislocation mechanism of diamond crystal growth.