Comparative optical and interferometric studies on synthetic diamonds

Abstract

Precise optical and interferometric studies are reported for the surface characteristics of four different varieties of synthetic diamond. The first group shows frequent hopper or skeletal structure on octahedron faces, with occasional smooth cube faces. Many faces are coated with an irregular thin film. The second group also shows hopper characteristics on the octahedral faces, marked slip effects and also very smooth cube planes. Growth spirals are found on some cube faces. Many of the faces are also coated. In the third batch there is a complete absence of surface coating, numerous plane cube faces are found and the octa­hedral faces are free from hopper effect. The fourth group has characteristics resembling the second.