Diamond Foils
Specifications
- Flexible and strong freestanding diamond membranes
- Various forms of diamond including nano-crystalline and micro-crystalline diamond, depending on synthesis conditions
- Up to 10 µm thick
- Several cm2 in size
- Young’s modulus up to 1050 GPa, depending on diamond material
- Burst pressure up to 600 kPa, depending on ratio of film thickness to lateral dimension and material
- Mountable in frames
- Drapable, during fabrication the foils can be wrapped around three-dimensional components such as pins
Fabrication
Films are initially deposited using microwave plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition on silicon wafers as ultrananocyrstalline, nanocrystalline, or microcrystalline diamond by varying selected deposition parameters including gas composition, nucleation, power, substrate temperature, and pressure. Subsequently the diamond is separated from the original substrate and applied either to new substrates or to frames. These substrates can be three-dimensional and the foils can be wrapped around them. The separation of deposition and application processes provides the opportunity to apply diamond thin films to substrates at room temperature.
Applications
- Windows for X-ray source
- Windows for radiation detectors
- X-ray lithography membranes
- Electron beam windows
- Stripping foils for ion beam accelerators
- Diamond sheet protection of temperature sensitive materials
References
- D. K. Reinhard, T. A. Grotjohn, M. Becker, M. K. Yaran, T. Schuelke, and J. Asmussen, Fabrication and properties of ultranano, nano, and microcrystalline diamond membranes and sheets, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 22, 2811 (2004)
- D. K. Reinhard, J. Asmussen, M. Becker, T. Grotjohn, T. Schuelke, and R Booth, Drapable diamond thin films and method for the preparation thereof, US 7,147,810, December 12th, 2006
