Diamond growth by a new method based upon sequential exposure to atomic carbon and hydrogen

We report growing high-quality diamond films by alternately exposing a substrate to a source of sputtered carbon atoms and one emitting atomic hydrogen in a new type of chemical vapor deposition reactor. The reactor is described, and two examples of films grown in it are shown. The implications of being able to grow diamond by a sequential process, and from the simple constituents of atomic carbon and hydrogen, are discussed.