Homoepitaxial diamond films on diamond anvils with metallic probes: The diamond/metal interface up to 74 GPa

A (100)-oriented natural type-Ia brilliant-cut diamond anvil with thin zirconium electrical probes sputtered onto the culet was coated with an insulating film of diamond using microwave-plasma-enhanced chemical vapour deposition (MPCVD). The critical issue in this high-pressure study is the quality of the homoepitaxial diamond him and its correlation with the mechanical strength of the diamond film/metallic probe interface. We report the first high-pressure study on a homoepitaxial diamond film and underlying zirconium probes to a pressure of 74 GPa. The metallic probes were observed through a transparent lithium fluoride sample with ruby serving as a pressure sensor. After decompression, Raman spectroscopy revealed that the homoepitaxial film was free from deformation and delamination despite the presence of some sp(2)-bonded carbon at the Zr/diamond interface and within the bulk of the him itself. The present study demonstrates that the presence of residual defects and graphitic impurities has no significant effect on high-pressure applications of homoepitaxial diamond films. This opens up new areas of research with diamond anvil cell devices including those of ohmic heating and electrical transport measurements at ultra-high pressures.