Diamond etching with near-zero micromasking

The outstanding material properties of single-crystal diamond have been the origin of the long-standing interest in its exploitation for engineering of high-performance micro- and nanosystems. Etching and patterning diamond have proven challenging due to the hardness and chemical resistance of the m...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xiangbing Wang, Shuangquan Fang, Bo Wang, Mengting Qiu, Kazhihito Nishimura, Nan Jiang, Jian Yi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-11-01
Series:Journal of Materials Research and Technology
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2238785424025390
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Summary:The outstanding material properties of single-crystal diamond have been the origin of the long-standing interest in its exploitation for engineering of high-performance micro- and nanosystems. Etching and patterning diamond have proven challenging due to the hardness and chemical resistance of the material. In this work, the patterned etching process of single-crystal diamond has been investigated using the inductively coupled plasma etching technique. In order to avoid the micromasking phenomenon caused by the metal mask, this paper adopts the Ar/O2–Ar/Cl2/BCl3 two-step cycle etching process and investigates the effect of the Cl2/BCl3 gas ratio on the bottom morphology of single-crystal diamond grid grooves. A theoretical explanation is provided for the use of chlorine-based gases to eliminate micromasking and achieve a smooth etching surface. Finally, an Ar/O₂-Ar/Cl₂/BCl3 cyclic etching process for patterning single-crystal diamond with near-zero micromasking has been developed.
ISSN:2238-7854