Various gases such as N-2, O-2, and CO2 have been introduced in the typical reaction atmosphere of CH4/H-2 and proposed to improve the growth of chemical vapor deposited (CVD) single-crystal diamonds (SCDs). In this paper, we study the influence of a new adding gas nitrous oxide (N2O) on the growth rate, morphology, and optical properties of homoepitaxy (100) CVD SCDs. The reaction pressure (H-2/CH4 flow rates) was fixed at 300 Torr (750/90 in sccm) with the addition of a small amount of N2O gas varied at flow rates of 0, 2, 5, 8 and 10 sccm. With the appropriate addition of N2O, the growth rate was increased up to 135 mu m/h and the surface roughness was decreased to around 2 nm. Furthermore, adding N2O is favorable for inhibiting the generation of large anti-pyramidal pits on the top surface of SCDs, which generally appeared in the products synthesized in CH4/H-2 ambient. The combined effect of the nitrogen- and oxygen-related radicals decomposed from N2O on the growth and properties of the CVD SCDs is discussed. As a result, the addition of N2O provides a new route to realize high-rate growth CVD SCDs instead of the traditional nitrogen. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.