The Applications of Synthetic Diamonds
Natural diamonds are formed from geological processes which take thousands of years. Synthetic diamonds, on the other hand, are created using artificial processes in just a matter of weeks inside a laboratory. www.e6.com prides itself on making superior-quality synthetic diamonds using state-of-art technology.
Synthetic or man-made diamonds are also called CVD diamonds or HPHT diamonds after their production methods, that is chemical vapor deposition methods and high-pressure high-temperature respectively.
The Properties of Synthetic Diamonds
Synthetic diamonds have many unique characteristics which include:
- Extreme thermal conductivity
- The hardest known substance
- Chemically inert
- Exceptional electrical insulators
- Sonic velocity is low
- High resistance to wear
- Thermal expansion is extremely low
- Biologically compatible
- Optically transparent
Diamonds, because of their stability, thermal conductivity, hardness, and the aforementioned properties have many applications in the world of modern technology.
Some of their uses are:
Radiation Detection
Diamonds have a broad band gap and are radiation hard. These hard gems also have a density that’s similar to those of soft tissues. These qualities make it possible for them to be excellent devices for detecting radiation.
Electrodes
Since diamonds are inert in nature, they can be used as electrodes. Synthetic diamonds also have the ability to detect redox reactions. In some cases, diamonds can degrade organic contaminants as a result of redox reactions in water supplies.
Machining Tools
PCD (PC diamonds) are used in different types of machining tools. Diamonds bits which are micron-sized are inserted in a metal, usually cobalt, matrix, making it harder. PCD tools are used in machining aluminum for the automotive industry. PCD drills are also used in oil and gas drilling.
Acoustic Electronic Equipment
Acoustic-electronic equipment based on synthetic diamonds have electromagnetic oscillations which activate the hyper sound of acoustic vibrations with frequencies ranging from 1-2 GHz. This is a major improvement compared to the analogous system whose frequencies were restricted to only 10 GHz.
Dental Applications
Developing synthetic diamond ultrasonic drill tips used in dental surgery.
Optics
Optical settings are now using CVD diamonds. These diamonds are 20 times stronger than the Raman laser. This new laser system embedded with CVD diamonds is able to cut through dense steel with an output power of about 400,000 pointers.
Diamond Two-Dimensional Thin Films
The 2-D diamond films are the thinnest film diamonds ever made whose applications are useful in spintronics and the nanoworld.
Thermal Management in the Electronics Industry
Electronics are now more powerful and smaller. One major challenge that these advanced electronic devices are facing is heat management. The leading cause of electronic failure is heat-related and as such, there is an urgent need for thermal management. The solution? Synthetic diamonds. Diamonds have extraordinary insulating and thermal conductivity properties. This makes synthetic diamonds effective in reducing the thermal resistance in different electronic applications.
Multiple-Use Technology
The thermal conductivity of diamonds is high while their friction coefficient is very low. This makes them suitable for rapid cooling or heating. Depending on the manner in which they are doped, diamonds can be used as semi-conductors as well.