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In this paper, the diamond epitaxial growth mechanism has been studied in detail by employing several types of diamond as a seed in a catalyst-graphite system under high pressure and high temperature (HPHT) conditions. We find that the diamond nucleation, growth rate, crystal orientation, and morphology are significantly influenced by the original seeds. The smooth surfaces of seeds are beneficial for the fabrication of high-quality diamond. Our results reveal that the diamond morphology is mainly determined by the original shape of seeds in the early growth stage, but it has an adjustment process during the growth and leads to well symmetry. Additionally, we have also established the growth model for the twinned diamond grown on several seeds, and proposed the possible growth processes by tracking the particular shapes of seeds before and after treatment under HPHT conditions. These results suggest that the shape-controlled synthesis of diamond with well morphology can be realized by employing certain suitable diamond seeds. This work is expected to play an important role in the preparation of trustworthy diamond-based electronic and photonic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explore diamond synthesis with a series of experiments using an Fe-Ni catalyst and a P3N5 additive in the temperature range of 1250-1550 0C and the pressure range of 5.0-6.3 GPa. We also investigate the influence of nitrogen on diamond crystallization. Our results show that the synthesis conditions (temperature and pressure) increase with the amount of P3N5 additive increasing. The nitrogen impurity can significantly influence the diamond morphology. The diamonds stably grow into strip and lamellar shapes in the nitrogen-rich environment. The Fourier-transform infrared spectrum shows that the nitrogen concentration increases rapidly with the content of P3N5 additive increasing. By spectrum analysis, we find that with the increase of the nitrogen concentration, the Ib-type nitrogen atoms can aggregate in the A-centre form. The highest A-centre nitrogen concentration is approximately 840 ppm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]