Single crystal and polycrystalline CVD diamond for demanding optical applications

Diamond's extremely wide transparency, combined with its other exceptional properties including hardness, strength and thermal conductivity make it a desirable material for optical windows. Polycrystalline diamond grown by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) has become the preferred window material for high power CO2 laser systems since its development in the 1990s. The range and availability of diamond materials is expanding, and in recent years has been extended to include CVD single crystal diamond. This paper reviews the quality of these materials, looking at optical scatter and absorption around 1 and 10 microns, along with their thermal and mechanical properties. We also discuss selection of appropriate grades and how they may best be integrated into demanding optical applications.