Diamond was created in nature in extreme conditions, at great depths below the surface of the earth as a result of significant pressure of up to 70-80 tons per square centimetre at a temperature of 1100 – 1300 degrees Celsius. Unfortunately, such circumstances of diamond formation affect both the rarity of its occurrence and its high price. Therefore, only artificial diamond synthesis could give a product that could be used in an industrial way.
The first experiments in the synthesis of diamond gained momentum after Smithson Tennat discovered that diamond is a crystalline form of elemental carbon, which happened in 1766. Later, efforts were made in the laboratories to create comparable conditions as in nature. The first patents belong to GE, whose scientists produced the first batch of synthetic diamonds in 1955. The synthesis consisted of changing graphite into diamond (the change concerned the geometric structure) using huge temperatures and pressures in the presence of catalysts.
In the 1980s, another CVD method was implemented, which involves the low-pressure production of synthetic diamond from the gas phase. This technology allows the diamond to be applied to large areas. Such a diamond has considerable homogeneity of the crystallographic structure and chemical purity. Currently, every year tons of this mineral are produced, which is in no way inferior to the real (except for the price), and besides in monitored conditions, it is possible to produce grains of equal parameters, size and structure. The widespread use of it in technology has significantly reduced its price, as well as the prices of tools with diamond segments: diamond discs, diamond drills, diamond grinding wheels, diamond pastes and others.
