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Laboratory Grown Diamonds

In todays modern world real diaomnds in laboratory have been created recently, of the highest purity, (type IIa are the highest purity diamonds created by mother nature) with least amount of nitrogne, boron or any other metallic impurities. These new class of diamonds are grown by a process known as Microwave Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition (MPCVD)1-10. In this process, inside a vacuum chamber, a subatmospheric pressure of about 100-200 torr is maintained by a continuous flow of Methane (CH4) and Hydrogen (H2)gases. As the high frequency electric and magnetic fields of 2.45 GHz and magnitude hundreds of Volts per meter is implimented inside the chamber the gas molecules are split and a miniature sunlike plasma ball is formed in the chamber. The mean free path of the molecular species is few mm at these pressures and therefore a real diamond either natural or laboratory grown can be placed near the plasma ball and a grown diamond results in the process. The growth process of diamond occurs naturally and with relative ease when the (100) oriented crystal plane of the natural or laboratory grown diamonds are in contact with the plasma ball, the [100] direction being the easy direction of growth of diamond because the energy required to add atoms in (100) planes is lowest in diamond. This process of crystal grwoth is the most natural way without any catalyst and therefore the purest form diaomnds result.

To put the thoughts in correct perspective the type IIa diamonds are produced only less than 2 % by mother nature and the above process yields only type IIa diamonds.