A simple, space constrained NIRIM type reactor for chemical vapour deposition of diamond

TL;DR

This paper presents a compact, modular chemical vapour deposition reactor based on NIRIM design, enabling easy replication and producing high-quality nanocrystalline diamond films with minimal complexity.

Contribution

The paper introduces a simple, space-efficient CVD reactor design using off-the-shelf components, with detailed CAD and control files for easy replication and modification.

Findings

Produced nanocrystalline diamond films with clear faceting

Observed a large diamond fraction indicating high-quality growth

Reactor design allows easy modification, repair, and cleaning

Abstract

In this paper the design of a simple, space constrained chemical vapour deposition reactor for diamond growth is detailed. Based on the design by NIRIM, the reactor is composed of a quartz discharge tube placed within a 2.45 GHz waveguide to create the conditions required for metastable growth of diamond. Utilising largely off-the-shelf components and a modular design, the reactor allows for easy modification, repair, and cleaning between growth runs. The elements of the reactor design are laid out with the CAD files, parts list, and control files made easily available to enable replication. Finally, the quality of nanocrystalline diamond films produced are studied with SEM and Raman spectroscopy, with the observation of clear faceting and a large diamond fraction suggesting the design offers deposition of diamond with minimal complexity.