Patent ID: 7605055

Claim:
A method of manufacturing a wafer comprising: providing a surface on a support substrate comprising a first crystalline material other than diamond; growing a polycrystalline diamond layer on the surface of the support substrate with a first portion in contact with the support substrate and with a second portion having an exposed surface to provide a first wafer with the polycrystalline diamond layer having a thickness sufficient so that the second portion of the polycrystalline diamond layer includes significantly fewer crystalline grains therein than the first portion of the polycrystalline diamond layer; providing a further substrate of a second material that is to be bonded to the first wafer; forming a region of weakness either in the first wafer or in the further substrate; bonding the further substrate to the first wafer at the exposed surface to provide a bonded structure, such that the region of weakness device first and second bonded structure portions of the bonded structure; and detaching the first bonded structure portion from the second bonded structure portion at the region of weakness to obtain the wafer.