Abstract
Heterogeneous and homogeneous processes in the formation of diamond at low pressures, where diamond is a metastable modification of carbon, are discussed. Data on the kinetics of the growth of diamond from hydrocarbons under conditions which give codeposition with graphite are reported, together with data on the influence of hydrogen on this process and on the resulting fractionation of the stable carbon isotopes. Chemical and plasma-chemical methods of preparing diamond and diamond-like layers are discussed, as well as methods based on the use of atomic and ionic beams. The most recent theoretical and experimental results on the homogeneous formation of diamond in the gas phase are presented.
The bibliography includes 73 references.