Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US7309446?dq=5987118
Timestamp: 2014-10-01 21:26:13
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Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60', 'Application No. 60']

Patent US7309446 - Methods of manufacturing diamond capsules - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign in<nobr>Advanced Patent Search</nobr>PatentsCapsules and similar objects are made from materials having diamond (sp3) lattice structures, including diamond materials in synthetic crystalline, polycrystalline (ordered or disordered), nanocrystalline and amorphous forms. The capsules generally include a hollow shell made of a diamond material that...http://www.google.com/patents/US7309446?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US7309446 - Methods of manufacturing diamond capsulesAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS7309446 B1Publication typeGrantApplication numberUS 11/067,600Publication dateDec 18, 2007Filing dateFeb 25, 2005Priority dateFeb 25, 2004Fee statusPaidAlso published asUS7183548, US7514680, US8318029, US8778196, US20080256850, US20130037978Publication number067600, 11067600, US 7309446 B1, US 7309446B1, US-B1-7309446, US7309446 B1, US7309446B1InventorsVictor B. KleyOriginal AssigneeMetadigm LlcExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (12), Non-Patent Citations (7), Referenced by (11), Classifications (24), Legal Events (5) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetMethods of manufacturing diamond capsulesUS 7309446 B1Abstract Capsules and similar objects are made from materials having diamond (sp3) lattice structures, including diamond materials in synthetic crystalline, polycrystalline (ordered or disordered), nanocrystalline and amorphous forms. The capsules generally include a hollow shell made of a diamond material that defines an interior region that may be empty or that may contain a fluid or solid material. Some of the capsules include access ports that can be used to fill the capsule with a fluid. Capsules and similar structures can be manufactured by growing diamond on suitably shaped substrates. In some of these methods, diamond shell sections are grown on substrates, then joined together. In other methods, a nearly complete diamond shell is grown around a form substrate, and the substrate can be removed through a relatively small opening in the shell.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the benefit of the following nine U.S. Provisional Applications:
U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/547,934 filed Feb. 25, 2004, entitled �Diamond Molding of Small and Microscale Capsules�; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/550,571 filed Mar. 3, 2004, entitled �Diamond Molding of Small and Microscale Capsules�; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/552,280 filed Mar. 10, 2004, entitled �Diamond Molding of Small and Microscale Capsules�; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/553,911 filed Mar. 16, 2004, entitled �Diamond Molding of Small and Microscale Capsules�; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/554,690 filed Mar. 19, 2004, entitled �Diamond and/or Silicon Carbide Molding of Small and Microscale or Nanoscale Capsules and Hohlraums�; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/557,786 filed Mar. 29, 2004, entitled �Diamond and/or Silicon Carbide Molding of Small and Microscale or Nanoscale Capsules and Hohlraums�; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/602,413 filed Aug. 17, 2004, entitled for �Diamond and/or Silicon Carbide Molding of Small and Microscale or Nanoscale Capsules and Hohlraums�; U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/622,520 filed Oct. 26, 2004, entitled �Diamond and/or Silicon Carbide Molding of Small and Microscale or Nanoscale Capsules and Hohlraums�; and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/623,283 filed Oct. 28, 2004, entitled �Diamond and/or Silicon Carbide Molding of Small and Microscale or Nanoscale Capsules and Hohlraums.�
U.S. Pat. No. 6,144,028, issued Nov. 7, 2000, entitled �Scanning Probe Microscope Assembly and Corresponding Method for Making Confocal, Spectrophotometric, Near-Field, and Scanning Probe Measurements and Forming Associated Images from the Measurements�; U.S. Pat. No. 6,252,226, issued Jun. 26, 2001, entitled �Nanometer Scale Data Storage Device and Associated Positioning System�; U.S. Pat. No. 6,337,479, issued Jan. 8, 2002, entitled �Object Inspection and/or Modification System and Method�; U.S. Pat. No. 6,339,217, issued Jan. 15, 2002, entitled �Scanning Probe Microscope Assembly and Method for Making Spectrophotometric, Near-Field, and Scanning Probe Measurements�; U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/554,194, filed Mar. 16, 2004, entitled �Silicon Carbide Stabilizing of Solid Diamond and Stabilized Molded and Formed Diamond Structures�; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/067,517, filed of even date herewith, entitled �Diamond Capsules and Methods of Manufacture�; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/067,521, filed of even date herewith, entitled �Methods of Manufacturing Diamond Capsules�; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/067,609, filed of even date herewith, entitled �Apparatus for Modifying and Measuring Diamond and other Workpiece Surfaces with Nanoscale Precision.� RELATED DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE The following documents provide background information related to the present application and are incorporated herein by reference:
[KOMA] R. Komanduri et al., �Finishing of Silicon Nitride Balls,� Oklahoma State University, Web Page at asset (dot) okstate (dot) edu (slash) asset (slash) finish.htm (updated Aug. 21, 2003); [PHYS] Physik Instrumente (PI) GmbH, �Datasheets: Options and Accessories,� Web page at www (dot) physikinstrumente (dot) de (slash) products (slash) prdetail.php?secid=1-39; [NOOL] Nonlinear Optics and Optoelectronics Lab, University Roma Tre (Italy), �Germanium on Silicon Near Infrared Photodetectors,� Web page at optow (dot) ele (dot) uniroma3 (dot) it (slash) optow�2002 (slash) labs (slash) SiGeNIR files (slash) SiGeNIR.htm; [SAIN] Saint-Gobain Ceramics, �ASTM F2094 Si3N4 Cerbec Ball Specifications,� Web page at www (dot) cerbec (dot) com (slash) TechInfo (slash) TechSpec.asp; [STOL] C. R. Stoldt et al., �Novel Low-Temperature CVD Process for Silicon Carbide MEMS� (preprint), C.R. Stoldt, C. Carraro, W. R. Ashurst, M. C. Fritz, D. Gao, and R. Maboudian, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley; [SULL] J. P. Sullivan et al., �Amorphous Diamond MEMS and Sensors,� Sandia National Labs Report SAND2002-1755 (2002); and [UWST] University of Wisconsin-Stout�Statics and Strength of Material, (Physics 372-321), Topic 6.5:Pressure Vessels�Thin Wall Pressure Vessels, Web page at physics (dot) uwstout (dot) edu (slash) StatStr (slash) Statics (slash) index.htm.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates in general to mechanical structures such as capsules, pellets, ball bearings and the like, and in particular to diamond capsules and methods of manufacture.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention provide capsules and similar objects made from diamond materials, including crystalline, polycrystalline (ordered or disordered), nanocrystalline and amorphous diamond. �Diamond� refers generally to any material having a diamond lattice structure on at least a local scale (e.g., a few nanometer), and the material may be based on carbon atoms, silicon atoms, silicon carbide or any other atoms capable of forming a diamond lattice. The capsules generally include a hollow shell of a diamond material that defines an interior region made of some other material; the interior region may be empty or may contain a fluid or solid material. Other embodiments of the invention provide methods for manufacturing capsules and similar structures using synthetic diamond.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1A-1D are cross-sectional views of capsules according to embodiments of the present invention;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention provide capsules and similar objects made from diamond materials, including crystalline, polycrystalline (ordered or disordered), nanocrystalline and amorphous diamond. �Diamond� refers generally to any material having a diamond lattice structure on at least a local scale (e.g., a few nanometer), and the material may be based on carbon atoms, silicon atoms, silicon carbide or any other atoms capable of forming a diamond lattice. The capsules generally include a hollow shell of a diamond material that defines an interior region made of some other material; the interior region may be empty or may contain a fluid or solid material. Other embodiments of the invention provide methods for manufacturing capsules and similar structures using synthetic diamond.
I. Diamond Capsule Structures A. Capsule Shell
As used herein, the term �capsule� refers to any three dimensional object having a shell with an identifiable inner wall that substantially encloses an interior region. The interior region may be empty, or it may be filled with some material, including solid or fluid materials.
In some embodiments, diamond shell 102 is made of crystalline diamond. As is well known in the art, a crystal is a solid material consisting of atoms arranged in a lattice, i.e., a repeating three-dimensional pattern. In crystalline diamond, the lattice is a diamond lattice 200 as shown in FIG. 2A. Diamond lattice 200 is made up of atoms 202 connected by Sp3 bonds 206 in a tetrahedral configuration. (Lines 208 are visual guides indicating edges of a cube and do not represent atomic bonds.) As used herein, the term �diamond� refers to any material having atoms predominantly arranged in a diamond lattice as shown in FIG. 2A and is not limited to carbon atoms or to any other particular atoms. Thus, a �diamond shell� may include predominantly carbon atoms, silicon atoms, and/or atoms of any other type(s) capable of forming a diamond lattice, and the term �diamond� as used herein is not limited to carbon-based diamond.
In still other embodiments, diamond shell 102 is made of polycrystalline diamond. As is known in the art, polycrystalline diamond includes multiple crystal grains, where each grain has a relatively uniform diamond lattice, but the grains do not align with each other such that a continuous lattice is preserved across the boundary. The grains of a polycrystalline diamond shell 102 might or might not have a generally preferred orientation relative to each other, depending on the conditions under which shell 102 is fabricated. In some embodiments, the size of the crystal grains can be controlled so as to form nanoscale crystal grains; this form of diamond is referred to as �nanocrystalline diamond.� For example, the average value of a major axis of the crystal grains in nanocrystalline diamond can be made to be about 100 nm or less.
As shown in FIG. 1A, shell 102 defines an interior region 104. Interior region 104 may be generally empty, as shown in FIG. 1A, or it may be filled with various materials. For example, FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of a capsule 302 whose interior 304 contains a fluid substance (indicated by shading). The term �fluid� as used herein refers to any gas or liquid substance, and a fluid in the interior may be at ambient pressure, or at higher or lower than ambient pressures.
In some embodiments, the capsule shell may form a complete barrier preventing access to the interior. In other embodiments, the shell includes one or more openings (referred to herein as �access ports�) that permit access to the interior. FIG. 3F, for example, is a cross-sectional view of a capsule 332 with an access port 334 in the shell 336. The access port may be a simply be a hole whose size is measured as a percentage of missing surface area. Access ports can range in size from nearly 0% to about 50% of the surface area. The port can be normal to the surface or at an oblique angle, and may provide a straight path, bent path, or curved path connecting the exterior and interior of the shell.
Diamond capsules can also be made with very smooth interior and/or exterior surfaces. For example, surface smoothness may be defined based on the maximum or root-mean-square (RMS) deviation from a given locus defining a �perfect� surface shape or from a measured locus defining an average surface shape. Smoothness may be measured by sampling the entire surface or just within a certain region on the surface. In one embodiment, the maximum deviation is controlled to within about 4 nm.
In other embodiments, the shapes of the inner and outer surfaces of a spherical diamond shell are controlled to provide a non-zero concentricity offset. Concentricity can be measured by sampling points on each of the inner and outer surfaces and using those points to determine an �inner center� and an �outer center�; to the extent that these two centers are different, the spheres are not concentric. Concentricity can be controlled by controlling the thickness of the shell during fabrication thereof; specific techniques are described in section II below and in above-referenced application Ser. No. 11/067,609. In some embodiments, shells may be made with a precisely controlled concentricity offset, which may be near zero or non-zero as desired.
II. Methods of Manufacturing Diamond-Lattice Capsules As noted above, the shell of a capsule can be made in sections and then assembled, or the shell can be grown substantially complete as a single section. Examples of both types of processes will now be discussed.
At step 501, a suitably shaped substrate (also referred to herein as a �form substrate� or �mold�) is obtained. The mold has a surface shaped to the desired inner or outer surface configuration of a portion of the capsule such that diamond material grown on the mold takes the desired shape.
In some embodiments, dopants or other materials are introduced during the growth process to provide desired electrical, thermal or mechanical properties in the completed shell. The term �dopant� as used herein refers to atoms of a type other than the type of which the diamond lattice is predominantly composed that occupy lattice sites. Dopant atoms may provide more, fewer, or the same number of bonding sites as the majority atoms and may be introduced for a variety of purposes. For example, dopants may be added to make certain layers, certain regions, or all of the shell conductive. Dopants or other materials may also be used to control the thermal expansion coefficient of the shell or to stabilize the shell from oxidation at high temperatures. Some dopants may also change the absorption cross section for various forms of radiation that may be incident on the shell. A variety of dopants may be used, including boron, nitrogen, astatine, polonium, americium, antimony, bismuth, arsenic, germanium, iodine, tellurium, selenium, silicon, and bromine.
In some embodiments, removal of the mold involves destruction of at least part of the mold material. For instance, all or part of the mold material may be removed using conventional wet or dry etching processes that chemically dissolve the mold material but not the shell material. Where the substrate is made of silicon, a well-known dry etchant such as CF6 might be used. Examples of wet etchants include liquid sodium hydroxide, which can be used at 300� C. in the Bayer process to dissolve alumina; lye; aqua regia; hydrofluoric acid; and the like.
As shown in FIG. 6K, coatings 641 advantageously include multiple materials, such as an �adhesion� material 643 that adheres well to the edge of the diamond shell and a �bond� material 645 that can be softened or reflowed to connect the two sections. In some embodiments, an additional �coupling� material 644 that adheres well to both the adhesion material 643 and the bond material 645 can be deposited between adhesion material 643 and bond material 645; adhesion material 643 and bond material 645 need not adhere particularly well to each other, as long as each adheres well to coupling material 644. In other embodiments, the same material may provide both adhesion and bonding. Suitable materials for coatings 641 for bonding include the above materials, as well as gold, silver, copper, nickel, platinum, indium, palladium, lead and uranium.
Coating 641 are advantageously made of materials that will provide a strong bond at the intended operating temperature of the resulting part. For example, for high-temperature applications (e.g., from about 200� C. up to about 800� C.), metal bonds may be used. In one embodiment, hemispherical shell sections 606 form a spherical capsule with a 2-mm diameter when assembled. A carbide-forming adhesion material 643 (e.g. titanium, silicon, chromium, or iron) is sputtered or evaporated onto edges 609 to a thickness of about 50 to 100 nm. A similar thickness of a coupling material 644 (e.g. nickel) is then applied, followed by a 200 nm to 2 micron thickness of a bond material (e.g. copper). The shell sections 606 are then placed in contact with each other and baked at a sufficient temperature (e.g., 900� C.) and pressure of about 50 g/mm2 to bond the two copper coatings together. Those having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other coating materials may also be used to provide higher or lower temperature performance.
For lower temperature applications (e.g., below about 200� C.), a similar process may be used, except that an additional material that adheres well to copper and has a lower melting point than copper may be applied after the copper bond material 645. Examples of suitable materials include silver, silver tin, tin, and/or lead, and other solder-like materials. The shell sections can be bonded at a lower temperature, e.g., 250� C.
For even lower temperature applications (e.g., below about 100� C.), edges 609 can be sputtered with silicon, over which a spin-on glass is applied. The shell sections can then be bonded at a temperature of, e.g., 150� C.
In some embodiments suitable for ultra-low temperature applications (e.g., about 4 K or below), various gases can be used as �cryoglues� to hold the shell sections together. For example, as shown in FIG. 6L, a band 650 is placed around shell sections 606, enclosing the joint line 652. Shell sections 606 are held at an ultra-low temperature (e.g., around 4 K), while a gas is directed inside band 650 using a heated pipe 654. The gas cools and hardens against the diamond joint area 652, providing an adhesive bond.
In a specific embodiment, the coating material, e.g. silicon carbide may be doped to be conductive or left in its intrinsic form as an insulator. The silicon carbide layer may be directly coated onto the diamond, or in the case of carbon diamond, a layer of silicon may be deposited to act as an adhesion layer between the carbon diamond and the silicon carbide. In another embodiment, a carbon diamond structure may be implanted with a seed layer of silicon, forming silicon carbide sites. A silicon carbide coating can then be applied by CVD growth of the silicon carbide. The technique is well known in the art and is described, e.g., in the above-referenced article [STOL]). Alternatively, a silicon carbide plasma arc can be allowed to condense on the seeded surface. In yet another embodiment, a vacuum arc of a the desired coating material is applied to a diamond surface that has been made conductive by dopants or by exposure to ultraviolet or x-ray radiation; a vacuum arc can be used to coat diamond surfaces at a wide range of temperatures from near 0 K up to about 1000� C.
Due in part to the larger openings, such configurations permit fast removal of the substrate, e.g., by etching, since more substrate material is exposed to the etchant at a given time. Further, in some instances, depending on the size and shape of the covered portion of the substrate, the substrate can be removed by slightly deforming (flexing) the shell and/or the substrate, allowing the substrate to �pop� free. Flexural removal can be practiced where the form substrate material is silicon carbide or another material with poor adhesion to diamond and where the fraction of the substrate surface area covered by the shell material is small (e.g., about 50% or less) or where the shell material is arranged so as not to require the substrate to pass through a constricted opening, as in the case of the hemispherical shell sections described in Section II.A above or in the case of a �baseball flap� shell.
III. Conclusion While the invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments, one skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications are possible. One skilled in the art will also recognize that the invention provides a number of advantageous techniques, tools and products, usable individually or in various combinations. These techniques, tools, and products include but are not limited to:
Formation of a sphere, capsule or pellet using any or all of the following: (a) molding or form coating of CVD or PECVD diamond to form parts of a capsule or pellet; (b) construction of a sphere by the accumulation of polycrystalline, stress relieved amorphous or homeoepitaxial diamond; (c) construction of a hollow sphere by the accumulation of polycrystalline, stress relieved amorphous or homeoepitaxial diamond; (d) construction of a sphere by the accumulation of polycrystalline, or homeoepitaxial silicon carbide; and (e) construction of a hollow sphere by the accumulation of polycrystalline, or homeoepitaxial silicon carbide; and/or a sphere, capsule or pellet where the inner surface is smoothed by the form or mold; and/or a sphere, capsule or pellet where the form or mold is used as a support and/or holder to complete modifications of and additions to the outer surface; and/or a sphere, capsule or pellet in which the outer surface is smoothed by the mold or form; and/or a sphere, capsule or pellet in which the form or mold is used as a support and/or holder to complete modifications of and additions to the inner surface; and/or assembly of a capsule using interference fits, locking clips or any structure molded, formed or machined into sections of the diamond shell; and/or assembly of capsules using an adhesion layer on the diamond plus other materials to bond the sections of the capsule; and/or assembly of capsules using an inert gas solid at temperatures below the inert gas melting point; and/or use of inert gases at very low temperatures as adhesives or agents for molding fixtures or structures of any kind; and/or a technique for making diamond parts in which two diamond pieces grown using a form or mold are joined together so their formed or molded surfaces and finishes are effective surfaces and finishes of the diamond part; and/or a hollow precision sphere or other shape formed by growing diamond on a ball form made or coated by any of silicon, silicon dioxide (including quartz), silicon carbide, silicon nitride, titanium, titanium carbide, titanium nitride, tantalum, tantalum carbide, tantalum nitride, molybdenum, molybdenum carbide, molybdenum nitride, tungsten, tungsten carbide, tungsten nitride, boron carbide, boron nitride, chromium, chromium carbide, chromium nitride, a suitable glass, aluminum oxide (including alumina) or any material on which diamond can be grown, where after growth the interior material is etched out through one or more openings or holes in the diamond material; and/or a diamond sphere grown on a form or mold in which the diamond coated ball is processed to external dimensions and finishes of any given precision; and/or a diamond sphere grown on a form or mold in which the interior form is left intact and the ball functions as a precision diamond coated ball bearing; and/or a diamond sphere formed by a growth process in which the ball form is rotated during diamond growth to promote even coating of the form with the diamond film; and/or a diamond sphere formed by a process in which a hollowed diamond sphere with one or more openings is returned to the growth environment and diamond is grown until the sphere is complete (without any openings) to obtain a continuous hollow diamond sphere; and/or processing a surface of a hollow diamond sphere to any degree of precision to obtain a precise hollow diamond spherical ball bearing; and/or a closed shape made of diamond grown on a seeded material that is able to mechanically support the diamond material; and/or a closed shape made of diamond grown on seeded substrate material that is supported by support structures to promote growth of diamond material over the entire structure except in the vicinity of the support(s), where the substrate material can be removed mechanically or by an etchant; and/or a closed shape made of diamond grown on substrate material supported by support structures in which the support holes are reduced in size by additional diamond growth to 5 micron or less openings; and/or a closed shape made of diamond grown on substrate material supported by support structures in which the diamond has been partially or fully boron doped and in which the shape is electrically charged such that in the region around the holes diamond growth is promoted while elsewhere it is inhibited; and/or a closed shape made of diamond grown on substrate material supported by support structures in which the diamond has been partially or fully boron doped and in which the shape is charged so as to promote growth everywhere except in the holes; and/or a closed shape as described above in which a mechanical means, magnetic field means or chemical means prevents the growth of boron doped diamond around the holes; and/or a closed shape as described above in which the boron is removed by chemical or mechanical means after the shape is coated with the boron coating; and/or a closed shape made of diamond with an electrically conductive additive, in which the electrically conductive additive to the diamond is nitrogen; and/or a closed shape made of diamond with an electrically conductive additive, in which the electrically conductive additive is any suitable conductivity inducing material, including various forms of carbon; and/or a shell such as described above in which the coating built up to compose the shell is boron carbide and/or boron nitride and/or silicon carbide and/or silicon nitride and/or tantalum carbide and/or tantalum nitride and/or tungsten carbide and/or tungsten nitride and/or any other obdurate material capable of being formed to extremely high finishes and tolerances; and/or a shell such as described above in which the holes are narrowed by the control of growth temperature and heat applied to the shell; and/or a shell such as described above in which the holes are narrowed to a diameter of 5 microns or less along some portion of their length; and/or any machined, molded or formed plug used to plug up the holes created in the grown diamond shell; and/or a process of building a rough mold or form out of alumina or quartz, then putting an appropriate hard film on the formed alumina or quartz, followed by further lapping and polishing to bring this surface to a desired accuracy and resolution for purposes of growing a diamond shell, where holes to the hard inner film or to the alumina or quartz are preserved during diamond growth, and after diamond growth etching is used to remove the alumina or quartz while other etch means (e.g., a dry etch) are used to remove other coatings such as silicon nitride or silicon carbide; and/or a hollow diamond shell as described herein in which the holes through which the shell's interior was etched are grown closed in an atmosphere of a high pressure fluid (liquid or gas), capturing the high pressure fluid in the interior of the shell; and/or a hollow diamond shell as described herein, in which very small holes are made in the sphere by any means including laser, or femtolaser machining, conventional machining or AFM guided nanomachining; and/or a hollow diamond shell filled with high-pressure fluid, where the high pressure is at least 500 atmospheres or more; and/or a hollow diamond capsule filled with high-pressure fluid, in which the hollow diamond capsule is less then 20 microns in diameter; and/or a hollow diamond capsule filled with high-pressure fluid in which the capsule is greater then 20 microns in diameter; and/or a diamond structure coated with silicon carbide, either directly or over an intervening layer; and/or a diamond structure coated with any or all of silicon carbide, silicon, silicon dioxide (quartz), silicon fluoride, magnesium fluoride, silicon nitride, titanium, titanium dioxide, carbide, titanium nitride, tantalum, tantalum carbide, tantalum nitride, molybdenum, molybdenum carbide, molybdenum nitride, tungsten, tungsten carbide, tungsten nitride, boron carbide, boron nitride, chromium, chromium carbide, chromium nitride, chromium oxide, or aluminum oxide; and/or any diamond structures which are stabilized and strengthened by being layered or incorporated into layers of silicon carbide; and/or any device, structure or mechanism composed in whole or part of diamond stabilized by silicon carbide and/or coated with layers in any order consisting of any or all of silicon carbide, silicon, silicon fluoride, magnesium fluoride, silicon nitride, titanium, titanium dioxide, carbide, titanium nitride, tantalum, tantalum carbide, tantalum nitride, molybdenum, molybdenum carbide, molybdenum nitride, tungsten, tungsten carbide, tungsten nitride, boron carbide, boron nitride, chromium, chromium carbide, chromium nitride, chromium oxide, aluminum oxide, or any stable oxide, any stable fluoride, or any stable nitride; and/or a fluid-containing diamond capsule with a mechanism to allow only one way flow into the capsule; and/or a valve for a diamond capsule using a double tapered single crystal diamond structure; and/or a vacuum or other arc system used to coat silicon carbide, silicon, silicon dioxide (including quartz), silicon fluoride, magnesium fluoride, silicon nitride, titanium, titanium dioxide, carbide, titanium nitride, tantalum, tantalum carbide, tantalum nitride, molybdenum, molybdenum carbide, molybdenum nitride, tungsten, tungsten carbide, tungsten nitride, boron carbide, boron nitride, chromium, chromium carbide, chromium nitride, chromium oxide, aluminum oxide (including alumina), oxide, carbide, nitride, fluoride, a suitable glass, or other suitable material at or near absolute zero; and/or a vacuum or other arc system used to coat silicon carbide, silicon, silicon dioxide (including quartz), silicon fluoride, magnesium fluoride, silicon nitride, titanium, titanium dioxide, carbide, titanium nitride, tantalum, tantalum carbide, tantalum nitride, molybdenum, molybdenum carbide, molybdenum nitride, tungsten, tungsten carbide, tungsten nitride, boron carbide, boron nitride, chromium, chromium carbide, chromium nitride, chromium oxide, aluminum oxide (including alumina), oxide, carbide, nitride, fluoride, a suitable glass, or other suitable material at or near 1000 degrees C.; and/or a vacuum or other arc system used to coat silicon carbide, silicon, silicon dioxide (including quartz), silicon fluoride, magnesium fluoride, silicon nitride, titanium, titanium dioxide, carbide, titanium nitride, tantalum, tantalum carbide, tantalum nitride, molybdenum, molybdenum carbide, molybdenum nitride, tungsten, tungsten carbide, tungsten nitride, boron carbide, boron nitride, chromium, chromium carbide, chromium nitride, chromium oxide, aluminum oxide (including alumina), oxide, carbide, nitride, fluoride, a suitable glass, or other suitable material at any temperature between near absolute zero and 1000 degrees C.; and/or a solid or hollow diamond structure in which the shape is obtained in whole or in part by direct machining or lapping; and/or a diamond part, including hollow diamond spheres and diamond spheres with cores, in which the diamond mass and shape are the principal mechanical, electrical, optical and/or thermal load bearing members of the part; and/or a diamond part, including diamond spheres with cores, in which the structural diamond is engineered to engage a core material by deformation when a load limit is reached; and/or a mold or form etch using any acid including hydrofluoric, aqua regia, and phosphoric acids; and/or a mold or form etch using any base including NaOH, KOH, the latter materials in solution; and/or a mold or form etch using a reactive chemically specific plasma such as CH6; and/or a diamond growth process wherein the part on which diamond is being grown is intermittently moved to permit even growth over all the target surfaces of the part; and/or a coating process wherein the part on which the coating is being grown is intermittently moved to permit even growth over all the target surfaces of the part; and/or a process for growing diamond on a form in which the form material is itself sufficient to obtain the surface finish of the end product diamond structure; and/or diffusion control of fluid atoms or molecules to increase or decrease the amount of such material inside a diamond form; and/or diffusion control of fluid atoms or molecules into a diamond form that includes carbon and any other material or combination of materials; and/or diffusion control of fluid atoms or molecules into a diamond form in which the diamond material is polycrystalline diamond with single or multiple crystal sizes from 100 nm to 4 or 5 angstroms; and/or a precision bearing with a gear-like coupling surface, said bearing made substantially of diamond; and/or a process for growing diamond on an elongated gear shaped bearing form made of or coated by any of silicon, silicon dioxide (including quartz), silicon carbide, silicon nitride, titanium, titanium carbide, titanium nitride, tantalum, tantalum carbide, tantalum nitride, molybdenum, molybdenum carbide, molybdenum nitride, tungsten, tungsten carbide, tungsten nitride, boron carbide, boron nitride, chromium, chromium carbide, chromium nitride, aluminum oxide (including alumina), a suitable glass, or any material on which diamond can be grown, where after growth the interior material is etched out through one or more openings or holes in the diamond material; and/or an outer bearing race form whose interior surface is a gear like form made of polycrystalline diamond; and/or an inner bearing race form whose outer surface is a gear like form made of polycrystalline diamond; and/or a bearing form in the shape of an elongated or cylindrical gear made of polycrystalline diamond. Thus, although the invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments, it will be appreciated that the invention is intended to cover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of the following claims.
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