Role of surface and interface science in chemical vapor deposition diamond technology

Diamond is well known as the hardest material in nature. It also has other unique bulk physical and mechanical properties, such as very high thermal conductivity and broad optical transparency, which enable a number of new applications now that large areas of diamond can be fabricated by the new diamond plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technologies. However, some of the most interesting properties of diamond, including the ability to be grown over large areas by CVD processes, result not from its bulk properties but from its special and unique surface chemistry. The surface chemistry derived properties are as remarkable as the bulk properties, and in the end may enable the development of new applications, technologies, and industries which are at least as important as those based on the bulk properties. Some of these surface properties are extreme chemical inertness, low surface energy, low friction coefficients, negative electron affinity, biological inertness, and high over-voltage electrode behavior. The surface science and some of the interesting ongoing research in these areas are explored and illustrated, and unresolved questions are highlighted.