Conference Report: WORKSHOP ON CHARACTERIZING DIAMOND FILMS Gaithersburg, MD February 27–28, 1992

A workshop was held at NIST on February 27-28, 1992 to discuss specific topics deemed important to the characterization of diamond films made by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and to address the need for standards in diamond technology. The workshop was held as a follow-up to a recommendation in a recent report assessing diamond technology in Japan [1]. The audience targeted for this workshop was the producers and potential users of CVD diamond technology in the United States. University scientists were invited as experts in properties measurements. There were 35 participants in the workshop. The workshop consisted of two components, technical presentations by active researchers on topics of the most immediate relevance to commercial applications and presentations by companies describing their needs for standards. Rather than choose a wide variety of topics for discussion, we focussed on two technical topics, the measurement of thermal conductivity or thermal diffusivity for heat dissipation applications, and the measurement of mechanical properties of diamond for cutting tool applications. These properties are important for other applications as well. The topics were selected on the basis of responses to a questionnaire sent to potential participants in the workshop. Presentations describing the NIST Advanced Technology Program and NIST facilities that might be useful to diamond researchers were also given. After the workshop, an evaluation form was sent to all registrants. The purpose of the form was to determine the usefulness of the workshop, the desire for further workshops, and the need for standards related activities. The results of this questionnaire will be included in a NIST Internal Report to be distributed to workshop participants. The sections that follow contain summaries of the three main sessions of the workshop. The principal conclusions to be drawn from the workshop include the following: