Growth of diamond particles from methane-hydrogen gas

Microcrystals of diamond were grown on non-diamond substrates including silicon, molybdenum and silica, as well as on diamond by chemical vapour deposition. Deposition was carried out by passing a mixture of hydrocarbon and hydrogen gases through a heated reaction chamber in which a hot tungsten filament was held near the substrates. The deposit was identified by reflection electron diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. The effects of experimental conditions on the growth features were studied.