sp3 Diamond Technologies,
Inc., a leading supplier of diamond film products, equipment and services,
today announced that its chemical vapor deposition (CVD) deposition capability
has been expanded to provide diamond coatings ranging from super smooth nanocrystalline
with a surface roughness of less than 10 nm to controlled microcrystalline films
with a surface roughness greater than 10 um. Additionally, sp3's Model
650 CVD diamond hot filament reactors, which are used to apply the coatings,
are available for companies interested in manufacturing diamond coated products
in-house.
sp3's super smooth diamond is ideal for wear surfaces such as seals or
bearings, while the microcrystalline films are highly suited for applications
such as chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) pad conditioning. Both types
of CVD diamond films provide an excellent coating for harsh or demanding environments
where the hardness of diamond, its extremely low coefficient of friction, its
abrasion resistance and its excellent thermal properties surpass all other alternatives.
“sp3 has a unique offering in this market because we manufacture the
CVD diamond deposition reactors required for these applications,” said
Dwain Aidala, president and COO of sp3 Diamond Technologies. “This allows
customers to take advantage of our coating services, or to purchase a reactor
system and add super smooth or controlled roughness diamond coatings as a process
step within their own facility. The expertise that we deliver with a reactor
means that customers typically receive existing process recipes that enable
them to achieve the CVD diamond film characteristics required for their target
application.”
Super smooth diamond, as manufactured on sp3's CVD diamond reactors,
is an ideal material for a wide variety of wear surfaces with demanding materials
requirements, such as contacting and non-contacting coated seals and water systems.
Controlled roughness diamond is an emerging material for CMP pad conditioners
as the silicon wafer industry moves to 22 nm and lower geometries in a highly
caustic copper (Cu) and tungsten (W) slurry environment.
Diamond-coated surfaces are better able to withstand the harsh chemical environments
typical for both types of applications, whether it is abrasive pumping or hot
water, where lubrication is poor, or in the corrosive slurry environment of
Cu or W CMP. In these environments, diamond's hardness and chemical resistance
combine to significantly extend the useful part life.
The ability to precisely control diamond growth and film properties in the
sp3 CVD diamond deposition process enables a very controlled grain size and
orientation on a substrate such as silicon carbide (SiC), thus lowering the
amount of heat generated between sliding surfaces, and further extending part
life while reducing failures. Such films can also be deposited on a wide variety
of other substrates, including cemented carbide, silicon, tungsten carbide,
and graphite.