Diamond industry uses

Not included in the production figures in Table 5.7-1, is the production of in-situ produced diamond coatings by gas phase pyrolysis (chemical vapor deposition, CVD), which are acquiring increasing industrial importance. The worldwide market for diamond-like- and CBN-coatings (CBN =cubic boron nitride) had a volume in 1993 of 40 million US, with an annual growth rate to 1998 of 30 to 40%. 

Today about 540 megacarat (1081) of industry-grade diamond are synthesized per year. In terms of cost per amount, the production of artificial diamond can easily compete with the hauling of natural material and so the first clearly surpasses the latter in the armual output Main supphers in 2003 have been Russia (16t), Ireland (121), South Africa (12t), Japan (6.8t), and Belarus (5t) (according to US Geological Survey)(Table 1.2). Recently, China entered the market on a large scale as well. 

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