OXIDATION RESISTANT DIAMOND COATINGS FOR HIGH TEMPERATURE IHPTET APPLICATIONS

DIAMOND THIN FILMS ARE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE SIGNIFICANT BENEFITS FOR APPLICATIONS IN DIFFICULT ENVIRONMENTS. HOWEVER, AN ANTICIPATED LIMITATION ON THE USE OF DIAMOND THIN FILMS IN AIR IS THE ONSET OF OXIDATION AT TEMPERATURES IN EXCESS OF APPROXIMATELY 550 DEG C. THE RESEARCH CONTEMPLATED WOULD TAKE THE FIRST STEPS NECESSARY TO DEVELOP COATINGS TO INHIBIT OXIDATION OF DIAMOND THIN FILMS. THE CONTRACTOR WILL IDENTIFY MATERIALS WHICH CAN SERVE AS EFFECTIVE OXIDATION CARRIERS FOR DIAMOND FILMS, AND DETERMINE THE RELATIVE EXTENT OF OXIDATION PROTECTION. RESEARCH WILL CONSIST OF TWO MAJOR ACTIVITIES. FIRST WOULD BE INVESTIGATION OF OXIDATION OF UNPROTECTED DIAMOND THIN FILMS IN AIR. THE SECOND ACTIVITY WOULD BE DEPOSITION OF VARIOUS MATERIALS ON DIAMOND FILMS AND SUBSEQUENT EVALUATION OF OXIDATION RESISTANCE. COATING MATERIAL ADHESION TO DIAMOND WILL ALSO BE INVESTIGATED TO HELP ASSURE STRONG CONFORMAL COATINGS. CHARACTERIZATION DATA WILL BE CORRELATED WITH DEPOSITION PARAMETERS AND COATING MATERIALS TO DETERMINE WHICH COMBINATIONS MOST STRONGLY GOVERN RESISTANCE TO OXYGEN ATTACK. AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE PROJECT A NUMBER OF DIAMOND SAMPLES WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE TO OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS FOR ADDITIONAL TESTING, PAVING THE WAY FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS ENGINEERING IN A PHASE II SBIR PROJECT.