DIAMOND-LIKE FILMS FOR MICROWAVE TRANSMISSION WINDOW APPLI- CATIONS

DIAMOND-LIKE FILMS ARE EXPECTED TO SHARE PROPERTIES OF REAL DIAMONDS FOR MANY INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS. SOME OF THE PROPERTIES OF INTEREST ARE EXTREME HARDNESS, LOW FRICTION, HIGH THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY AND ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE, TOLERANCE FOR HIGH TEMPERATURE AND RADIATION, RESISTANCE TO CHEMICAL ABRASION, LARGE REFRACTIVE INDEX, HIGH TRANSPARENCY, LOW DIELECTRIC CONSTANT, AND LARGE BAND GAP FOR USE AS SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS. AN APPLICATION REQUIRING SUCH PROPERTIES IS THEIR USE AS WINDOWS FOR ELECTRON CYCLOTRON RESONANCE HEATING ON THERMONUCLEAR FUSION DEVICES USING MILLIMETER WAVES. DIAMOND-LIKE FILMS OF EXTREMELY HIGH UNIFORMITY WITH INDEX OF REFRACTION THAT PEAKS AROUND THE VALUE FOR DIAMOND HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY PRODUCED IN THE LABORATORY. THE MATERIAL ALSO EXHIBITS DIAMOND-LIKE PROPERTIES OF HARDNESS, LOW FRICTION AND HIGH ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE. THIS LABORATORY TECHNIQUE IS BEING DEVELOPED FURTHER, IN THIS PROJECT, TO OBTAIN A FREE STANDING FILM FOR USE AS A MICROWAVE TRANSMISSION WINDOW. ENCOURAGING RESULTS COULD BE FOLLOWED BY HIGHER VOLUME PRODUCTION OF THE MATERIAL IN BOTH FREE STANDING FORM AND ASCOATINGS FOR A WIDE RANGE OF COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS.