June_AMP_Digital

60 / 62

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | J U N E 2 0 1 5
6 0
SUCCESS ANALYSIS
SPECIMEN: SYNTHETIC DIAMOND
VITAL STATISTICS
Diamond’s extreme properties, such as having the wid-
est spectral band of any known material—extending from ul-
traviolet to far infrared and the mm-wave microwave band—
combined with exceptional heat dissipation and mechanical
hardness, have led to new applications in a diverse range of
optical industries, from spectroscopy to high-power laser
machining.
Advances in new growth methodologies enabled by
chemical vapor deposition (CVD) mean that synthetic dia-
mond is no longer rare or unique. This CVD growth platform
enables controlled fabrication of uniform and repeatable
synthetic diamond over large diameters (>100 mm) and thick-
nesses (>3 mm) with properties such as absorption tailored
to each application. While characteristics of natural diamond
such as variability are attractive in the gem industry, they lim-
it industrial use by optical engineers. Synthetic CVD diamond
addresses these challenges.
SUCCESS FACTORS
“Quantum information processing using defects nano-
engineered into diamond is currently a very exciting area. At
the same time, its exploitation in high-power laser systems for
machining and processing materials is already of great com-
mercial interest,” says Andrew Bennett, principal research
scientist at Element Six. In 2014, the company announced a
three-year, European Union-funded project that will use sin-
gle crystal diamond to massively increase the output power
of lasers. With the European Commission’s Seventh Frame-
work Program for Research and Technological Development,
the goal is to develop an ultrafast pulse disk laser. The project
will help design a new laser with high average output power to
increase productivity and precision in micromachining trans-
parent materials. “As part of the effort, we’re looking to fur-
ther develop our low-loss, high purity single crystal CVD dia-
mond material to rapidly conduct heat off a titanium sapphire
thin-disk, which will be used as the laser gain material,” says
Bennett.
ABOUT THE INNOVATORS
Andrew Bennett has been with Element Six since 2011 as
a principal research scientist and is responsible for managing
the company’s optical research program, working closely with
customers and academic institutes. Element Six designs and
develops synthetic diamond supermaterials and is a member
of The De Beers Group.
Wavelength conversion and
beam quality improvement
using a diamond Raman laser.
A single crystal synthetic di-
amond provides unmatched
purity for ATR prisms in IR
spectroscopy.
WHAT’S NEXT
“I see three areas that offer great promise for this ad-
vanced material,” says Bennett. “First is synthetic diamond’s
role in the development of extreme UV lithography capabili-
ties, and the goal in this area is to help electronic devices op-
erate faster and more efficiently. Next, I think we will witness
great advancements with getting diamond inside the cavity of
disk lasers, increasing power output. Although synthetic dia-
mond is already used in lasers, if we can get it inside the cavi-
ty, we can double the cooling efficiency and help these lasers
move to higher average powers and higher brightness. Lastly, I
expect we will see noteworthy applications with Raman lasers.
The world is full of different lasers, but those that are power-
ful, reliable, and efficient are rare. With Raman lasers based on
synthetic diamond, we’re able to reachmore wavelengths with
high optical efficiency.”
Contact Details
Andrew Bennett
Element Six • Fermi Ave., Harwell Oxford, Didcot
Oxfordshire OX11 0QR, UK • +44 (0) 1235 441098
,
Optical grade CVD diamondmanufactured by Element Six.