Thin nano- to microcrystalline diamond (N/MCD) films were deposited on silicon substrates using plasma enhanced microwave chemical vapor deposition. Selected layers were covered with a thin metal layer of Cr to enhance their optical absorption characteristics for photothermal and photoacoustic experiments. A heterodyne diffraction method was used to investigate the thermoelastic signatures of the N/MCD layers. While the dispersion of surface acoustic waves turned out to be difficult to determine due to high optical scattering from the diamond crystallites, it was found that a diamond film of ~ 2 μm thick is enhancing the thermal diffusion along the surface.

The presented work aims for the development of optically-traceable intracellular nanodiamond sensors, where photoluminescence can be changed by biomolecular attachment/delivery event. High biocompatibility, small size and stable luminescence from its color centers, makes nanodiamond (ND) particles an attractive alternative to molecular dyes for drug-delivery and cell-imaging applications. In our work we study how the surface modification of ND can change ND luminescence spectra. This method can be used as a novel detection tool for remote monitoring of chemical processes in biological systems. We discuss photoluminescence (PL) spectra of oxidized and hydrogenated ND and a single crystal diamond, containing engineered NV centers. The hydrogenation of ND leads to quenching of NV- related luminescence and a PL shift due to changing of occupation from NV- to NV0 states. We model this effect using electrical potential changes at the diamond surface.

Hydrogen terminated diamond field effect transistors (FET) of 50nm gate length have been fabricated, their DC operation characterised and their physical and chemical structure inspected by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS). DC characterisation of devices demonstrated pinch-off of the source-drain current can be maintained by the 50nm gate under low bias conditions. At larger bias, off-state output conductance increases, demonstrating most likely the onset of short-channel effects at this reduced gate length.

Applying ab initio calculation and molecular dynamics simulation methods, we have been calculating and predicting the essential phase transition and self-assembly of two lower diamondoids (adamantane and diamantane), three of their important derivatives (amantadine, memantine and rimantadine), and two organometallic molecules that are built by substituting one hydrogen ion with one sodium ion in both adamantane and diamantine molecules (ADM•Na and Optimized DIM•Na). To study their self-assembly and phase transition behaviors, we built seven different MD simulation systems, and each system consisting of 125 molecules. We obtained self-assembly structures and simulation trajectories for the seven molecules. Radial distribution function studies showed clear phase transitions for the seven molecules. Higher aggregation temperatures were observed for diamondoid derivatives. We also studied the density dependence of the phase transition which demonstrates that the higher the density - the higher the phase transition points.

A study is presented on the morphology and electric properties of heavily boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond (B:NCD) thin films (≈150snm) grown with two different C/H-ratios (1% and 5%) and a fixed 5000sppm B/C-ratio in gas phase on fused silica substrates. AFM measurements confirm that a higher C/H-ratio leads to smaller grains and more grain boundaries. Electric transport measurements reveal a higher resistivity and a lower mobility as function of the C/H-ratio for all temperatures measured. The resistivity of the 1% sample is almost not temperature dependent while the 5% sample is much more temperature dependent. The electric transport properties of the grain boundaries, more present in the 5% sample, can be responsible for the difference in transport properties of both samples. The active boron concentration, calculated from the electric transport measurements, is remarkably higher for the 5% sample which indicates there is more boron incorporation for higher C/H-ratios. Although both samples are disordered metals, the 1% sample with the least grain boundaries tends more to the behavior of a highly doped single crystalline diamond film, which behaves like a real metal when heavily boron-doped.

To counteract plasma instabilities like Neoclassical Tearing Modes (NTM-modes) in nuclear fusion reactors (JET, ITER, DEMO) high power microwaves are used for the Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) and for the plasma current drive (CD). The foreseen power level for ITER (Cadarache, France) is Ptot = 24 MW at f = 170 GHz. Each transmission line is designed for a maximum of 2 MW power. The vacuum and tritium barrier to the ITER vacuum vessel is realized by a CVD diamond disk window assembly. Diamond has an extremely high thermal conductivity of about k = 2100 W/Km and a very low loss tangent of tan δ < 10-5 for this frequency and shows therefore a very small microwave absorption. The normalized absorbed power A=Pabs/P0 can be calculated as A = (f/c) • π • (1+εr‘) • tan δ • t (with the rule of thumb estimate: (f/c)=0.5 mm-1; π • (1+εr‘) = 20; tan δ =10-5; A=10-4 • t [mm]); i.e. each t = 1 mm thickness of diamond absorbs Pabs = 100 W of Po = 1 MW microwave power transmitted through the CVD diamond window with an effective tanδ of 10-5.

Recently, a wide range of new applications of diamond materials such as spintronics, field emission, and bio-sensing have been proposed. These applications often require the precise patterning of diamonds, which is not trivial because diamonds are the hardest materials known in nature. Among various patterning techniques, the focused ion beam milling method has been proven to provide flexibility as well as high resolution in the pattern design. In this study, a focused beam of 30 kV Ga+ ions was utilized to create sub-micrometer size patterns out of crystalline diamonds. The sputtering rate, re-deposition, and surface roughening of diamond structure have been closely monitored with various milling parameters during the milling process. Our study revealed a low milling yield of 0.02 μm3/nC, high Ga content re-deposition, and the formation of sub-micron scale terracing on the sidewall of patterned diamonds.