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Fast smoothing on diamond surface by inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching

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  • The Science and Technology of Vapor Phase Processing and Modification of Surfaces
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Abstract

The synergetic effects of surface smoothing exhibited during the inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching (ICP-RIE) of free-standing polycrystalline diamonds (PCDs) were investigated. Changing the assistive gas types generated variable surface oxidation states and chemical environments that resulted in different etching rates and surface morphologies. The main reaction bond mechanism (C–O) during ICP-RIE and the ratio of C–O–C/O–C=O associated with the existence of a uniform smooth surface with root mean square (RMS) roughness of 2.36 nm were observed. An optimal process for PCD smoothing at high etching rate (4.6 µm/min) was achieved as follows: 10% gas additions of CHF3 in O2 plasma at radio frequency power of 400 W. The further etched ultra-smooth surface with RMS roughness <0.5 nm at etching rate of 0.23 µm/min that being produced by transferring this optimum recipe on single crystal diamonds with surface patterns confirmed the effectiveness of the fast smoothing approach and its feasibility for diamond surface patterning.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2016YFE0133200), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Staff Exchange Scheme (No. 734578), and Nano-X Experimental Cooperation Project (H008-2017). Special thanks to the national high-level university-sponsored graduate program of China Scholarship Council (CSC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Bei**g, Bei**g, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Yuting Zheng, **long Liu, Junjun Wei & Chengming Li

  2. School of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester, LE1 7RH, UK

    Yuting Zheng, Ruoying Zhang, Aude Cumont & Haitao Ye

  3. School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Bei**g, Bei**g, 100083, People’s Republic of China

    Jue Wang

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  1. Yuting Zheng
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Correspondence to Chengming Li or Haitao Ye.

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This author was an editor of this journal during the review and decision stage. For the JMR policy on review and publication of manuscripts authored by editors, please refer to http://www.mrs.org/editor-manuscripts/.

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Zheng, Y., Liu, J., Zhang, R. et al. Fast smoothing on diamond surface by inductively coupled plasma reactive ion etching. Journal of Materials Research 35, 462–472 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2019.369

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