Man Made Diamond Information Glossary
boule - A synthetic single-crystal mass grown in a furnace.
carat - The unit of weight by which a diamond is measured. One carat equals 200 milligrams.
chemical vapor deposition (CVD) - A process to deposit a layer of a material from a gaseous phase onto a surface.
crucible - A vessel made of material that does not melt easily; used for high temperature applications.
crystal - Any solid material in which the component atoms are arranged in a definite pattern and whose surface regularity reflects its internal symmetry.
cubic zirconia (CZ) - Zirconium oxide (ZrO2), a mineral that is extremely rare in nature but is widely synthesized for use as a diamond simulant.(Wikipedia)
diamond wafer - A flat piece of diamond upon which microprocessors can be carved.
feathers - The small stress fractures in a diamond formed during its crystallization process.
fire - Colored light reflected from within a diamond.
high pressure, high temperature (HPHT) - A process that forms crystals in an environment of very high pressure and temperature.
inclusions - Internal imperfections within a diamond.
kilo pascal (kPa) - One thousand newtons per square meter.
micron - One millionth of a meter.
Mohs hardness scale - A scale that ranges from 1-10 in measuring a gem's hardness.
Moissanite - Moissanite is a trade name name given to silicon carbide (chemical formula SiC) for use in the gem business.(Wikipedia)
multi-crystalline - A mineral made up of more than one crystal. A diamond is a single crystal.
newton - The unit of force giving a mass of one kilogram an acceleration of about one meter per second per second.
refractive index (RI) - The speed of light in a vacuum as opposed to its speed in a medium.
seed crystal - A small piece of single crystal mineral from which a large crystal is to be grown.
substrate - The surface or medium that serves as a base for something.
Return to Man Made Diamond Information Home