Diamond needles and tips as engineered growth shapes

Diamond nucleation and growth by CFD were investigated to examine the possibility of engineering diamond growth shapes for practical applications. The results obtained include the following: a) Evidence supporting certain factors influencing nucleation - useful in controlling nucleation sites and nucleation density. b) Evidence for a double spiral growth mechanism operating on (111) faces under specific conditions - indicates the possibility of a new mechanism operating for diamond growth from the vapour phase, and the possibility of larger growth rates. c) Evidence for the enhanced growth in 〈100〉 crystallographic direction on a cubooctahedral crystal and its control by varying the process parameters - thus showing the possibility of obtaining diamond needles and tips as engineered growth shapes, for specific applications