IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,392,027
Granted Patent B2
US 12,392,027 · App. 17/310,555 · Granted Aug 19, 2025

Method of forming a diamond coating on a carbon material

Inventors: Maryam Alsadat Hejazi (Melbourne, AU); David John Garrett (Melbourne, AU); Alastair Douglas Stacey (Melbourne, AU); Nicholas Vincent Apollo (Melbourne, AU); Kumaravelu Ganesan (Melbourne, AU); Matias Ismael Maturana (Melbourne, AU); Steven Prawer (Melbourne, AU); Wei Tong (Melbourne, AU); Melanie Elisabeth Maria Stamp (Melbourne, AU); Michael Ibbotson (Carlton, AU)
Assignees: The University of Melbourne; THE NATIONAL VISION RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
C23C16/274A61B5/1468A61N1/0543C01B32/05C23C16/0272C23C16/042C23C16/545C30B25/04C30B25/18C30B29/04D06M11/74D06M23/06H01B1/04A61B2562/0285A61N1/36046C01P2002/82C01P2002/85C01P2004/02C01P2004/03C01P2004/80C01P2006/40D06M2101/40
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,392,027
App. No.
17/310,555
Granted
Aug 19, 2025
Kind
B2
Abstract

Disclosed is a method of forming a conductive diamond layer on a surface of a carbon fibre substrate that is used as a component of an electrode for neural stimulation and/or electrochemical sensing. The method comprises functionalising at least a portion of the surface with a functionalising agent to facilitate coating the surface with the conductive diamond layer. The method also comprises providing a diamond precursor and depositing the diamond precursor over the functionalising agent to form the conductive diamond layer. The disclosure also relates to an electrode that is used as a component of an electrode for neural stimulation and/or electrochemical sensing.

Claims (18)

1. A method of forming a conductive diamond layer on a surface of a carbon fiber substrate, the carbon fiber substrate coated with the conductive diamond layer configured for use as a component of an electrode for neural stimulation and/or electrochemical sensing, the method comprising:

functionalizing at least a portion of the surface of the carbon fiber substrate with a functionalizing agent to provide a functionalized surface;

coating the functionalized surface with diamond seeds to form a diamond seed layer covalently bonded to the functionalized surface, wherein the functionalizing agent includes a chemical moiety for forming a covalent bond between the functionalized surface and the diamond seeds; and

using a diamond precursor, forming the conductive diamond layer via chemical vapor deposition on the diamond seed layer.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the surface is functionalized with an amine or carboxylate group.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the diamond seeds are bonded to the functionalized surface via an amide bond that is formed through the use of a coupling agent.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the diamond seeds are oxygen-terminated.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the functionalizing agent includes a diazonium moiety, wherein the step of functionalizing the at least a portion of the surface of the substrate includes applying a negative charge to the substrate to electro-catalytically convert the diazonium species to nitrogen gas and to form a covalent bond between the functionalizing agent and the at least a portion of the surface of the substrate.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein coating the at least a portion of the surface with diamond seeds to form the diamond seed layer comprises dispersing the diamond seeds in a solution to form a diamond seed solution, wherein coating the at least a portion of the surface with diamond seeds to form a diamond seed layer includes immersing the at least a portion of the surface in the diamond solution.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the diamond seeds have a diameter ranging from about 5 nm to about 1000 nm.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the chemical vapor deposition is microwave plasma-assisted or hot filament chemical vapor deposition.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein forming the conductive diamond layer further comprises covering at least a first portion of the surface with a mask to limit formation of the conductive diamond layer to a second portion of the surface.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the mask is formed from a metal including molybdenum, and wherein the second portion includes a tip of the fiber.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the diamond seed layer is uniform over the functionalized surface.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the diamond precursor is a mixture of gases including one or more constituents containing carbon, and one or more constituents that contain nitrogen and/or boron.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein the mixture of gases includes nitrogen and the conductive diamond layer comprises a nitrogen dopant.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the mixture of gases includes boron and the conductive diamond layer comprises a boron dopant.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the carbon fiber substrate has a diameter>0.5 μm and the diamond seeds have a diameter of <100 nm.

Assignments (3)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Apr 20, 2026
From: THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE; THE NATIONAL VISION RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
To: CC LABS PTY LTD
Reel/Frame 074419/0338 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Jul 21, 2023
From: NATIONAL VISION RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA
To: THE NATIONAL VISION RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN COLLEGE OF OPTOMETRY
Reel/Frame 064344/0406 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 28, 2022
From: HEJAZI, MARYAM ALSADAT; GARRETT, DAVID JOHN; STACEY, ALASTAIR DOUGLAS; APOLLO, NICHOLAS VINCENT; GANESAN, KUMARAVELU; MATURANA, MATIAS ISMAEL; PRAWER, STEVEN; TONG, WEI; STAMP, MELANIE ELISABETH MARIA; IBBOTSON, MICHAEL
To: THE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE; NATIONAL VISION RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA
Reel/Frame 059123/0005 →
Priority Claims (1)
AU 2019900435 · Feb 11, 2019 · national
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20220127720A1 · Apr 28, 2022
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