Processing of Single Crystal Diamond (1 0 0) Plane Using Wear with Ferrous Disk

Diamond has the highest hardness of all materials, high thermal conductivity and excellent optical transparency. However, it is very difficult to process the shape of the diamond because of its high hardness. By the way, when a ferrous material is cut by a diamond, the diamond is worn in spite of the diamond is much harder than the ferrous material. This phenomenon is called as thermal chemical reaction and occurs when the diamond is contacted with the ferrous material under high temperature and high pressure. This thermal chemical reaction is thought that results from the graphitization of diamond, the rapid diffusion of carbon atoms into the ferrous metal and others. In this research work, the worn due to the thermal chemical reaction was utilized diamond processing. A single crystal diamond is worn with a thin ferrous disk. This processing method was using the reactions at the interface of the diamond and the ferrous material, so the shape of the ferrous material of the contact surface can be expected to be transferred to the diamond. As a result, the diamond was grooved by the ferrous disk. Temperature of diamond during processing was measured using a K-type thermocouple. The diamond had reached the graphitization temperature. Raman spectroscopy was used to confirm if there is graphite on the diamond. Graphite was not detected on the diamond surface after processing, and only diamond peaks were detected.