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Concept
Synthetic diamond
Summary
Lab-grown diamond (LGD; also called laboratory-grown, laboratory-created, man-made, artisan-created, artificial, synthetic, or cultured diamond) is diamond that is produced in a controlled technological process (in contrast to naturally formed diamond, which is created through geological processes and obtained by mining). Unlike diamond simulants (imitations of diamond made of superficially similar non-diamond materials), synthetic diamonds are composed of the same material as naturally formed diamonds – pure carbon crystallized in an isotropic 3D form – and share identical chemical and physical properties.
Numerous claims of diamond synthesis were reported between 1879 and 1928; most of these attempts were carefully analyzed but none was confirmed. In the 1940s, systematic research of diamond creation began in the United States, Sweden and the Soviet Union, which culminated in the first reproducible synthesis in 1953. Further research activity yielded the discoveries of high pressure high temperature diamond (HPHT) and CVD diamond, named for their production method (high-pressure high-temperature and chemical vapor deposition, respectively). These two processes still dominate synthetic diamond production. A third method in which nanometer-sized diamond grains are created in a detonation of carbon-containing explosives, known as detonation synthesis, entered the market in the late 1990s. A fourth method, treating graphite with high-power ultrasound, has been demonstrated in the laboratory, but currently has no commercial application.
The properties of man-made diamond depend on the manufacturing process. Some synthetic diamonds have properties such as hardness, thermal conductivity and electron mobility that are superior to those of most naturally formed diamonds. Synthetic diamond is widely used in abrasives, in cutting and polishing tools and in heat sinks. Electronic applications of synthetic diamond are being developed, including high-power switches at power stations, high-frequency field-effect transistors and light-emitting diodes.
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