Growth hillocks on the “111” surface of high pressure synthetic diamond

Abstract

Abstract Diamond crystals, 2–3 mm in diameter, were grown from metallic catalyst-solvents which contain silicon under high temperature and pressure conditions. The dendritic pattern, which is commonly seen on high pressure synthetic diamonds, was not present on the “111” or “100” planes of crystals grown from NiSi alloys. Triangular growth hillocks and fine rectangular elevations were clearly observed on the “111” and the “100” surfaces respectively. Crystals grown from an FeNiSiTi alloy did not show t dendritic pattern but rather showed hexagonal growth hillocks on the “111” surface. When an FeNiSi alloy was used, the dendritic pattern was seen on the grown crystal, but zoning which indicates the hexagonal growth hillocks was revealed by cathodoluminescence topography. The presence of the growth hillocks suggests that the “111” surfaces of the diamond crystals have grown by the spiral growth mechanism.