sp3 Diamond Technologies Installs Advanced Diamond Deposition Tool At Heriot-Watt University

Santa Clara, CA - Following a recent order for its advanced Model 650 hot filament CVD diamond deposition reactor, sp3 Diamond Technologies, Inc., a leading supplier of diamond film products, equipment and services, announced that it has completed installation of the tool at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The tool is being used as part of Heriot-Watt's research into developing technologies for withstanding the immense heat associated with nuclear fusion reactions. Heriot-Watt is seen as playing a vital role in the Euro International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) program, a euro 10 billion research project aimed at developing waste-free nuclear energy without contributing to global warming.

As part of that research, Heriot-Watt has proposed that diamond-coated substrates, due to diamond's unparalleled ability to withstand the level of heat generated by next generation fusion reactors, will be used to line the diverter wall of the reactor. Resistance to radiation and its ability to maintain chemical stability in the presence of hydrogen plasmas were also seen as fundamental characteristics of diamond as a material of choice.

"We believe we are entering an age when the unparalleled qualities of diamond are coming to the fore and we will see more and more applications adopting it as a material of choice," stated Dwain Aidala, sp3's President and COO. "The key to that adoption is the ability to offer large scale thin film diamond deposition and to be able to do that cost-effectively. The patented technology and key engineering in the Model 650 enables both and, as we see it, the reactor is a catalyst to larger scale adoption of CVD diamond in multiple market segments."

sp3's Model 650 enables cost-effective, large area deposition of high quality, polycrystalline diamond films with a thickness of between 200 nanometers and 50 microns, on a wide variety of substrate materials. The chemical vapor deposition technology is ideal for applications such as diamond on wafers in sizes up to 300mm, wear coatings, substrates for thermal management, amorphous silicon deposition for solar cells and other products, electrodes for water treatment and electrochemistry, passivation layers for semiconductor chucks, as well as cutting tools.

SOURCE: sp3 Diamond Technologies, Inc.