Materials with extreme properties: Their structuring and applications

This article is a brief review on syntheses of materials with extreme properties and their modification by plasma processes to obtain different morphological structures. First we illustrate general methodologies on preparation of polycrystalline diamond (PD), nanocrystalline diamond (ND), cubic boron nitride (cBN), diamond/cBN multilayer films by low pressure methods. Since cBN synthesis is more challenging, we place more attention to cBN including its growth, structuring and doping. The structural compatibility of cBN and diamond enables the fabrication of multilayer (superlattices); and we describe such an approach to produce composite materials with even more extreme properties. The superior hardness, extreme thermal conductivity and high chemical stability make diamond and cBN well suited for cutting tool and tribological applications. Although doping of these wide bandgap materials for p- and n-type conductivity is difficult, recent works indicate considerable advancement. The combination of high chemical stability and thermal conductivity with attractive electronic properties makes diamond and cBN suitable for construction of high power electronic devices operating in harsh environments. The development of these applications relies on the ability to design patterns and control the film conductivity. We illustrate that despite diamond and cBN are chemically stable and inert against many chemicals, film patterning and device fabrication is possible with the use of plasma processing. Further, we discuss the fundamental issues involved and demonstrate feasibility for the design of practical applications such as deep-ultraviolet (DUV) detectors and surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices. Finally we discuss the existence of other composite materials with extreme properties that have been only barely investigated, and that present promising alternatives for the future commercial applications. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.