Thick Diamond Films Research Articles

Growth and surface structrue of hydrogen terminal diamond thin films

The conductivity of hydrogen-terminated diamond is a limiting factor in its application in field-effect transistor devices. The traditional preparation process hinders the improvement of the electrical properties of hydrogen-terminated diamond due to impurity elements in the diamond bulk and surface damage caused by processing near the diamond surface. To overcome this, researchers have explored the epitaxial growth of a high-purity and flat-surfaced diamond thin film on a diamond substrate. However, this approach still faces challenges in film characterization and achieving high surface smoothness. In this study, microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition technology is used to epitaxially grow a sub-micron thick diamond film on a nitrogen-doping chemical vapor deposition diamond substrate of 10 mm × 10 mm × 0.5 mm in size. The influence of methane concentration on the growth and conductivity of diamond film is investigated. The test results reveal that the growth thickness of the diamond film ranges from 230 to 810 nm, and the nitrogen concentration in the epitaxial layer is lower than 1×10<sup>16</sup> atom/cm<sup>3</sup>. Three growth modes are observed for the homoepitaxial growth of the diamond thin film under different methane concentrations. A methane concentration of 4% enables two-dimensional planar growth of diamond, resulting in a smooth and flat surface with a roughness of 0.225 nm (10 μm×10 μm). The formation of different surface morphologies is attributed to the growing process and etching process of diamond. Surface low-energy electron diffraction testing indicates that the surface of the diamond film undergoes a structural transition from oxygen terminal (1×1: O) to hydrogen terminal (2×1: H) when grown for a short period of time. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis reveals an extremely low ratio of oxygen element to nitrogen element, giving the grown diamond film P-type conductivity characteristics. The Hall test results demonstrate that the hydrogen-terminated diamond film grown with a methane concentration of 4% exhibits the highest conductivity, with a square resistance of 4981 Ω/square and a hole mobility of 207 cm<sup>2</sup>/(V·s). This enhanced conductivity can be attributed to the lower defect density observed under these specific conditions. The findings of this study effectively improve the electrical properties of hydrogen-terminated diamond, and contribute to the development and practical application of high-power diamond devices.

The effect of step-flow growth on the surface morphology and optical properties of thick diamond films

Thick diamond films are needed for high power device applications. One approach is to grow via the step-flow growth mode on miscut substrates. In this paper we correlate variations of surface morphology and optical properties of a 250 μm-thick undoped diamond layer, grown at a rate of 10.4 μm/h, on a (001) diamond substrate with a miscut angle of 10 degrees towards a <010> direction. The epilayer surface comprises regions with island growth on (001) planes, and regions parallel to the miscut substrate surface exhibiting step-bunching and faceting and resulting in various degrees of surface roughness. The optical properties exhibit a combination of sharp and broad luminescence peaks, which are found to be specific to growth morphology and to the nitrogen content in the near-surface region.

Investigation on the preparation of large area diamond films with 150–200 mm in diameter using 915 MHz MPCVD system

In this work, the diamond films with 150 mm in diameter were prepared in our home-made 915 MHz microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) system. The appropriate height of the pocketed substrate holder was researched in order to reduce the edge effect as much as possible. And the diamond thin films which were deposited in the designed substrate holder present relative high uniformity which demonstrated the feasibility of the structure of the substrate holder. Furthermore, the φ 150 mm diamond thick film was deposited using relative higher gas mixture flow rate and microwave power. The thickness variation of the diamond thick film is about 13.4% and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the diamond peak increases from 5.78 cm−1 to 7.23 cm−1 with the distance to the center of the diamond film increasing from 0 mm to 70 mm. The I(C2)/I(Hα) across the plasma shows a relative uniform distribution which was kept in the range of 2.9–3.4 in our experiments. Besides that, the φ 200 mm diamond film was attempt to synthesis which illustrates the feasibility of depositing the diamond films with the diameter more than 150 mm, although some improvements on the plasma environment should be considered.

Physical bending of heteroepitaxial diamond grown on an Ir/MgO substrate

With increasing demand for large-diameter heteroepitaxial diamond, understanding the origin of the thermally induced bending of heteroepitaxial diamond, which is caused by the difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion between diamond and the substrate during cooling after the growth process, has become an important task. We investigated the physical bending of heteroepitaxial diamond grown on Ir/MgO substrates, and the state of the grown diamond as a result of bending was summarized as a function the diamond film thickness. When the diamond thickness (dd) was less than ~2.5 μm, partial delamination of the diamond/Ir from the MgO substrates was observed. When dd was approximately 2.5–200 μm, diamond/Ir was delaminated and broken into small pieces. The small pieces of diamond/Ir films were highly convexified. When dd was greater than ~200 μm, the diamond/Ir films spontaneously separated from the MgO substrates without any breakage, resulting in freestanding diamond films with the same dimension as the MgO substrates. The critical thickness to obtain freestanding heteroepitaxial diamond was found to be ~200 μm. When dd was in the range 6–550 μm, the separated MgO substrates were convexly bent, meaning that the MgO was plastically deformed. Theoretical calculations of the substrate curvature after epitaxy were performed for the elastic bending of the diamond/Ir/substrate heteroepitaxial system. On the basis of the calculations, the maximum curvature by physical bending was expected to reach −22,800 km−1 at ~150 μm thickness and to change to reduction with increasing diamond thickness. The curvature of breakage-free freestanding diamond samples with 243–550 μm thickness ranged from −7200 to −4400 km−1, showing moderate matching with the theoretical calculations of physical bending for the diamond/Ir/MgO multilayered system. Freestanding diamond films and MgO continued to affect each other at least until the structure experienced plastic deformation.

The influence of droplet-based seeding of nanodiamond particles on the morphological, optical, and mechanical properties of diamond coatings on glass

This work investigates four different methods for the seeding of nanodiamond (ND) particles towards applying nanocrystalline diamond coatings on glass. The standard spin coating and dip coating are investigated together with two droplet-based techniques, ink-jet printing and ultrasonic spray coating (USSC). The application of these last two techniques for diamond coatings on glass is novel and is specifically designed for patterning and large area deposition, respectively. Comparing the seeding processes, their impact on the chemical vapor deposited nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) layers is unclear. Here, particularly the impact on the morphological, optical, and mechanical properties, are studied. In this work, borosilicate glass substrates were seeded, after which diamond layers were grown in a linear antenna microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition reactor to thicknesses of 45, 100, and 500 nm. The coatings showed a roughness that is 2 to 3 times higher for the droplet-based seeding techniques compared to spin coating. It was found that the optical absorption coefficient for 100 nm thick samples prepared using USSC was 2400 cm−1 at the wavelength of 550 nm, compared to 1500 cm- 1 using spin and dip seeding techniques. The stress in the film was compressive as determined by curvature measurements. Sand-trickling tests on samples coated with 100 nm thick diamond films showed similar resistance against damaging for all seeding techniques without delamination. Therefore, the different techniques achieve mechanically competitive performance. On top USSC and ink-jet printing have the opportunity to fully cover substrates on large-scale flat and even 3D surfaces, or pattern fine structures, which is not possible for standard spin and dip coating. It can be concluded that diamond coatings on large glass plates for scratch resistance, and sensing due their somewhat higher roughness, are within reach using these innovative droplet-based seeding technologies.

Preparation of diamond on GaN using microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition with double-substrate structure

Combining diamond with GaN can significantly improve the heat dissipation performance of GaN-based devices. However, how to avoid the destructive damage to the GaN epi-layer caused by high-temperature hydrogen plasma during the diamond growth is still a problem. This study employed a Si transition layer and double-substrate structure microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) to prepare diamond film on GaN epi-layer. The effects of double-substrate structure on the diamond growth were studied. The microwave plasma parameters of both single-substrate structure and double-substrate structure MPCVD diagnosed by emission spectra were comparatively investigated. It has been found that the microwave plasma energy of double-substrate structure MPCVD is relatively more concentrated and has higher radicals activity, which is beneficial to the diamond growth. The impacts of the Si transition layer on the diamond growth were also investigated. It demonstrates that the Si transition layer can effectively protect the GaN epi-layer from being etched by hydrogen plasma and improve the diamond growth. The relationship between the thickness of the Si transition layer and the diamond growth and the relationship between diamond film thickness and adhesion has been studied in detail.

High pressure and high temperature treatment of chemical vapor deposited polycrystalline diamond: From opaque to transparent

The enhanced optical properties of chemical vapor deposited (CVD) diamond have been pursued in academia and industry for many applications. However, the barrier of CVD technology limits the application field of diamond. Herein, the performance of CVD polycrystalline diamond thick films was improved by high-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT) treatment. The microstructures of CVD polycrystalline diamond films before and after HPHT treatments were thoroughly examined using optical microscope, UV–visible and infrared absorption, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). It is found that the transparency of the CVD samples at 10 GPa increases dramatically with processing temperatures, from the original opacity to almost full optical transparency. Through spectroscopic and microstructural analyses, the modification mechanism of CVD polycrystalline diamond under HPHT conditions is proposed. The results show that the HPHT treatment can significantly enhance the optical properties of the starting CVD polycrystalline diamond films.

Microcrystalline diamond film evaluation by spectroscopic optical coherence tomography

This study has focused on the microcrystalline diamond film (MCD) thickness evaluation. For this purpose, optical coherence tomography (OCT) enhanced by spectroscopic analysis has been used as a method of choice. The average thickness of the tested layer was about 1.5 µm, which is below the standard 2-point OCT resolution. In this case, the usefulness of the spectroscopic analysis was confirmed for the evaluation of the thickness changes in the submicrometer range. Full Text: PDF ReferencesM.D. Drory, J.W. Hutchinson, "Diamond Coating of Titanium Alloys", Science, 263 (1994). CrossRef J. Wang, J. Zhou, H.Y. Long, Y.N. Xie, X.W. Zhang, H. Luo, Z.J. Deng, Q. Wei, Z.M. Yu, J. Zhang, Z.G. Tang, "Tribological, anti-corrosive properties and biocompatibility of the micro- and nano-crystalline diamond coated Ti6Al4V", Surf. Coat. Technol., 258 (2014). CrossRef P.A. Nistor, P.W. May, F. Tamagnini, A.D. Randall, M.A. Caldwell, "Long-term culture of pluripotent stem-cell-derived human neurons on diamond – A substrate for neurodegeneration research and therapy", Biomaterials, 61 (2015). CrossRef C.A. Love, R.B. Cook, T.J. Harvey, P.A. Dearnley, R.J.K. Wood, "Diamond like carbon coatings for potential application in biological implants—a review", Tribol. Int., 63 (2013). CrossRef P. Strąkowska, R. Beutner, M. Gnyba, A. Zielinski, D. Scharnweber, "Electrochemically assisted deposition of hydroxyapatite on Ti6Al4V substrates covered by CVD diamond films — Coating characterization and first cell biological results", Materials Science and Engineering: C, 59 (2016). CrossRef T.S. Ho, P. Yeh, C.C. Tsai, K.Y. Hsu, S.L. Huang., "Spectroscopic measurement of absorptive thin films by Spectral-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography", Opt. Express 22, 5 (2014). CrossRef N. Bosschaart, T.G. van Leeuwen, M.C.G. Aalders, D.J. Faber, "Quantitative comparison of analysis methods for spectroscopic optical coherence tomography", Biomedical Opt. Express 4, 11 (2013). CrossRef F.E Robles, C. Wilson, G. Grant, A. Wax, "Molecular imaging true-colour spectroscopic optical coherence tomography", Nat. Photonics 5, 12 (2011). CrossRef A.F. Fercher, W. Drexler, C.K. Hitzenberger, T. Lasser, "Optical coherence tomography - principles and applications", Rep. Prog. Phys. 66, 239 (2003). CrossRef A.M. Kamińska, M.R. Strąkowski, J. Pluciński, "Spectroscopic Optical Coherence Tomography for Thin Layer and Foil Measurements", Sensors 20, 19, (2020). CrossRef M. Kraszewski, M. Strąkowski, J. Pluciński, B.B. Kosmowski, "Spectral measurement of birefringence using particle swarm optimization analysis", Appl. Opt. 54, 1 (2015). CrossRef

Exploring three-point-bending fracture toughness of thick diamond films from different directions

In this study, the effect of defects on fracture toughness in different directions was investigated. Two diamond films with a diameter of 122 mm and as-deposited thicknesses of 2.2 and 1.5 mm, respectively, were deposited by DC arc plasma jet chemical vapor deposition. To accurately obtain the fracture toughness, the films were ground and polished to 1.6 and 0.8 mm, respectively. The results indicate that many defects, including pores, are introduced into the films during the growth process, particularly on the side close to the growth surface in thicker film. The size of pores reaches micrometres, which affects the fracture toughness under loading in different directions. Due to the minimum grain size, both films exhibit a maximum toughness of 8.2 and 10.0 MPa·m1/2, respectively, with growth-surface cracks. For the thinner sample, the maximum value is followed by that of the edge-surface cracks. As the grain size of the edge surface falls between that of the growth surface and that of the nucleation surface, the results indicate that fracture toughness is affected by grain size. However, the number of pores near the growth side increases when the thickness exceeds 0.8 mm. Pores reduce the toughness, resulting in the minimum fracture toughness (6 MPa·m1/2) of the thicker diamond film with edge-surface laser cracks. The sample with an edge-surface sharp pre-crack has a similar fracture toughness of 5.6 MPa·m1/2. This study provides guidance for selecting the applied load direction.

Preferentially oriented growth of diamond films on silicon with nickel interlayer

A multistep deposition technique is developed to produce highly oriented diamond films by hot filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) on Si (111) substrates. The orientation is produced by use of a thin, 5–20 nm, Ni interlayer. Annealing studies demonstrate diffusion of Ni into Si to form nickel silicides with crystal structure depending on temperature. The HFCVD diamond film with Ni interlayer results in reduced non-diamond carbon, low surface roughness, high diamond crystal quality, and increased texturing relative to growth on bare silicon wafers. X-ray diffraction results show that the diamond film grown with 10 nm Ni interlayer yielded 92.5% of the diamond grains oriented along the (110) crystal planes with ~ 2.5 µm thickness and large average grain size ~ 1.45 µm based on scanning electron microscopy. Texture is also observed to develop for ~ 300 nm thick diamond films with ~ 89.0% of the grains oriented along the (110) crystal plane direction. These results are significantly better than diamond grown on Si (111) without Ni layer with the same HFCVD conditions. The oriented growth of diamond film on Ni interlayers is explained by a proposed model wherein the nano-diamond seeds becoming oriented relative to the β1-Ni3Si that forms during the diamond nucleation period. The model also explains the silicidation and diamond growth processes.Article HighlightsHigh quality diamond film with minimum surface roughness and ~93% oriented grains along (110) crystallographic direction is grown on Si substrate using a thin 5 to 20 nm nickel layer.A detailed report on the formation of different phases of nickel silicide, its stability with different temperature, and its role for diamond film texturing at HFCVD growth condition is presented.A diamond growth model on Si substrate with Ni interlayer to grow high quality-oriented diamond film is established.

Scanning Deposition Method for Large-Area Diamond Film Synthesis Using Multiple Microwave Plasma Sources.

The demand for synthetic diamonds and research on their use in next-generation semiconductor devices have recently increased. Microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) is considered one of the most promising techniques for the mass production of large-sized and high-quality single-, micro- and nanocrystalline diamond films. Although the low-pressure resonant cavity MPCVD method can synthesize high-quality diamonds, improvements are needed in terms of the resulting area. In this study, a large-area diamond synthesis method was developed by arranging several point plasma sources capable of processing a small area and scanning a wafer. A unit combination of three plasma sources afforded a diamond film thickness uniformity of ±6.25% at a wafer width of 70 mm with a power of 700 W for each plasma source. Even distribution of the diamond grains in a size range of 0.1–1 μm on the thin-film surface was verified using field-emission scanning electron microscopy. Therefore, the proposed novel diamond synthesis method can be theoretically expanded to achieve large-area films.

Structural and thermal analysis of polycrystalline diamond thin film grown on GaN-on-SiC with an interlayer of 20 nm PECVD-SiN

A 1.5-μm polycrystalline diamond was deposited on the AlGaN/GaN heterojunction on the SiC substrate with a 20-nm SiN dielectric. A 4.9% increase in 2DEG density after the diamond growth due to the increase in tensile strain of the GaN layer is confirmed by micro-Raman measurements. The interfacial analysis through the transmission electron microscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy shows a thickness reduction in the SiN layer of ∼1.7 nm, which converts to a thin SiC layer at the diamond/SiN interface, and no carbon diffusion is found in the SiN layer after the diamond growth. Device simulation using the thermal properties extracted by time domain thermoreflectance predicts a temperature drop of 17.1 °C when the diamond only covers the device access region and reveals that the improvement of thermal boundary resistance is much more effective than that of the diamond thermal conductivity for the top-side heat spreading, which is mainly due to the limited thickness of the top diamond film.

Solid particle erosion of CVD diamond films deposited at different methane concentration

Thick diamond films are synthesized on Si substrate by HFCVD method with different methane concentration (up to 21.9 vol %) in the gas mixture. The erosion resistance of the obtained coatings was investigated by the solid particle erosion of SiC. We show that, regardless of the microstructure, diamond coatings exhibit the same erosion mechanisms. Ring and radial cracks, as well as pin-holes and a local delamination of diamond film were detected for all synthesized films. We found that despite the high degree of initial roughness, the microcrystalline diamond coating showed the maximum erosion resistance at all stages of erosion experiments.

Fabrication and evaluation of diamond thick film-Si3N4 brazed cutting tool by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition method

• A novel CVD-diamond thick film-Si3N4 brazed WC-Co tool was proposed. Sandblasting-nanodiamond seeding pretreatment method was adopted for the diamond thick film deposition on Si3N4 substrates. • Tribological behaviors of the polished diamond film, diamond thin film and PCD were compared. • Cutting performances and wear mechanisms of CVD-diamond thick film-Si3N4 brazed WC-Co, diamond coated and PCD tools were investigated. Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond thick film, due to its higher hardness and better wear resistance, is a potential competitor of the poly-crystalline diamond (PCD) when used as the brazed tool tip. Besides, compared with the thin diamond coated tool, the diamond thick film brazed tool does not have the risk of catastrophic coating delamination. However, due to the fragile characteristic of the free-standing diamond thick film, the conventional polishing is complicated and inefficient. In this study, a novel CVD-diamond thick film-Si 3 N 4 brazed WC-Co (i.e. DB) tool is proposed. The diamond thick film was deposited on the Si 3 N 4 substrate by microwave plasma CVD (MPCVD), using the optimized deposition parameters: microwave power = 3.5 kW, reactant pressure = 20 kPa and methane concentration = 10 %. Adopting the sandblasting and nanodiamond seeding pretreatment methods could improve the film surface smoothness and suppress the voids formation on the film-substrate interlayer, which are beneficial for the post polishing process. In addition, Si 3 N 4 as the supportive substrate could help to prevent the diamond film breaking from polishing. The polished CVD diamond thick film-Si 3 N 4 was laser cut to small tips and then brazed on the WC-Co cutter body. The cutting performance of DB tool was tested in dry turning hypereutectic Al-Si alloy, adopting the PCD and thin diamond coated WC-Co (i.e. DC) tools as comparisons. The cutting results suggest that DB tool outperformed the PCD and DC tools in term of service life and surpassed the DC tool in machining quality. Moreover, the novel tool in this study avoided some typical problems for the conventional diamond tools, such as the coating delamination for thin diamond coated tool and preferred wear of the binder for PCD tool. Noteworthy is that the worn DB tool still presents a rather sharp cutting edge, only some micro-columnar diamond crystals chipped from the flank face.

Effects of Carbonization of Filaments on CVD Diamond Thick Films Prepared by HFCVD Method

Hot filament CVD method has many advantages such as simple equipment, easy operation and low expenses, which make it the most widely used method in industrial producing diamond thick film. In this paper, tantalum filament is used in the hot filament chemical vapor deposition apparatus to carbonize under different temperature for different time, then nucleation experiments are carried out on molybdenum substrate. SEM and EDS are used to observe the surface morphology and analyze the components of the carbonized filament and substrate. The results show that lasting the carbonization time can improve the nucleation density in preparing diamond thick film,the adhesion of the diamond film also increases. Electrical resistance of the filament after carbonization can be used as a criterion to determine whether it is fully carbonized or not.

Thickness-controllable diamond films deposited on stainless steel using a Cr/Cr-Si-N interlayer prepared at different N2/Ar flow ratios

It is important to deposit diamond films with controllable thickness on stainless steels to realize their applications in medical apparatus with high precision. Here, the diamond film with various thicknesses was achieved by adjusting the N2/Ar flow ratio in deposition of Cr/Cr-Si-N interlayer. The results show that with the ratio increases, Cr(Si) phase that is easily carbonized in the interlayer gradually decreases, continuously shortening the time for carbon supersaturation and leading to the increase of diamond film thickness. With the ratio reaching 50%, the interlayer consists of (Cr,Si)N phase which has lower carbonization rate than Cr(Si), the film is the thickest. At the ratio larger than 50%, (Cr,Si)2N phase appears which has low unit cell density. Carbon atoms easily diffuse inward through the phase and those for growth of diamond film decrease, so the film becomes thin again. In addition, the adhesion of the diamond film becomes poor when the ratio is 125%, which can be attributed to the outward diffusion Fe atoms due to the small thickness of interlayer caused by the target poisoning effect. This study provides a new pathway for fabricating thickness-controllable diamond film on stainless steels for high precision apparatus applications.

Boundary curvature effect on the wrinkling of thin suspended films

A relation between the boundary curvature κ and the wrinkle wavelength λ of a thin suspended film under boundary confinement is demonstrated. Experiments were performed with nanocrystalline diamond films of approximate thickness 184 nm grown on glass substrates. By removing portions of the substrates after growth, suspended films with circular boundaries of radius 30–811 μm were fabricated. Due to residual stresses, the portions of the film bonded to the substrate are of approximate compressive prestrain 11×10−4 and the suspended portions of the film are azimuthally wrinkled at their boundary. Measurements show that λ decreases monotonically with κ, and a simple model that is in line with this trend is proposed. The model can be applied to design devices with functional wrinkles and can be adapted to gain insight into other systems such as plant leaves. A method for measuring residual compressive strain in thin films, which complements standard strain characterization methods, is also described.

Effect of precursor stoichiometry on morphology, phase purity, and texture formation of hot filament CVD diamond films grown on Si (100) substrate

The effect of precursor stoichiometry is reported on morphology, phase purity, and texture formation of polycrystalline diamond films. The diamond films were deposited on 100-mm Si (100) substrates using hot filament chemical vapor deposition at substrate temperature 720–750 °C using a mixture of methane and hydrogen. The gas mixture was varied with methane concentrations 1.5% to 4.5%. Diamond film thickness and average grain size both increase with increasing methane concentration. Diamond quality was checked using surface and cross-section by ultraviolet micro-Raman spectroscopy. The data show consistent diamond properties across the surface of the film and along the cross-section. XRD pole figure analyses of the films show that 3.0% methane results in preferential orientation of diamond in the 〈111〉 direction, whereas films deposited with 4.5% methane showed texture along the 〈220〉 direction in addition to 〈111〉 which was tilted ~ 23° with respect to the surface normal.

Epitaxial diamond on Ir/ SrTiO3/Si (001): From sequential material characterizations to fabrication of lateral Schottky diodes

Advanced characterizations with combined analytical tools were carried out at the different stages of diamond heteroepitaxy on Ir/STO/Si (001) substrates. HRTEM and STEM-EELS revealed the presence of epitaxial nanometric diamond crystals after bias enhanced nucleation. UV Raman allowed estimating the diamond film quality and its strain at the early stages of heteroepitaxial growth. The crystalline structure and the strain within thick heteroepitaxial films were determined by XRD and CL investigations. A CL study of the cross-section provided the mapping of the dislocation network along the growth direction. Measurements performed on lateral Schottky diodes fabricated on a thick diamond film showed an excellent reproducibility on the substrate with a Schottky barrier height in good agreement with those obtained on homoepitaxial layers.

A simple procedure to obtain nanodiamonds from leftover of HFCVD system for biological application

Nanodiamonds (NDs) are amongst the most investigated carbon-based nanostructures due to their chemical stability and favorable mechanical properties. Despite the number of works on methods for NDs production, one of the main challenges is to achieve their colloidal stability in aqueous suspension. Additionally, NDs are normally obtained by expensive, complex and time-consuming process. Herein, it was presented a facile method to obtain NDs in aqueous suspension by using columnar structure diamond from Hot-Filament Chemical Vapour Deposition reactor (HFCVD). CVD diamond leftover thick film from CVDVale Company was used. Therefore, this method has the advantage of being not only practical but also cost-effective since it brings a profitable use of CVD diamond leftover. The Diamond thick film was submitted to ultrasonic cavitation in the presence and absence of ZrO2 microbeads in aqueous medium. The NDs hydrodynamic diameter and the stability in aqueous suspension were monitored by light scattering, size and morphology were analyzed by transmission electronic microscopy. Considering the wide application of NDs in biomedical devices, cytotoxicity of aqueous suspensions of NDs was evaluated against murine embryonic fibroblast cells. Furthermore, NDs were functionalized with hydrogen and carboxyl groups. NDs aqueous suspension of straight size distribution was obtained even in the absence of ZrO2 beads, indicating that they may be dispensable in order to decrease NDs size. NDs of average hydrodynamic diameter of 22 nm and − 35 mV of Zeta-potential were obtained after ultrasonic cavitation followed by 2 h of centrifugation, not demonstrating cytotoxicity to cells at very low (0.05–0.5 μg/mL) nor at higher concentrations (116 μg/mL). Nevertheless, NDs showed a moderate cytotoxicity at intermediary concentration range (0.5–2.2 μg/mL). From our knowledge, this is the first work that reports on a facile method for providing NDs aqueous suspension with high colloidal stability from HFCVD diamond leftover.