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

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 December 2019

Yuting Zheng ,
Jinlong Liu ,
Ruoying Zhang ,
Aude Cumont ,
Jue Wang ,
Junjun Wei ,
Chengming Li  and
Haitao Ye
Yuting Zheng
Affiliation:
Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, People’s Republic of China School of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, U.K.
Jinlong Liu
Affiliation:
Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, People’s Republic of China
Ruoying Zhang
Affiliation:
School of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, U.K.
Aude Cumont
Affiliation:
School of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, U.K.
Jue Wang
Affiliation:
School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, People’s Republic of China
Junjun Wei
Affiliation:
Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, People’s Republic of China
Chengming Li*
Affiliation:
Institute for Advanced Materials and Technology, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, People’s Republic of China
Haitao Ye*
Affiliation:
School of Engineering, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, U.K.
*
a)Address all correspondence to these authors. e-mail: chengmli@mater.ustb.edu.cn
b)e-mail: haitao.ye@leicester.ac.uk
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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.

Keywords

chemical vapor depositiondiamond filmreactive ion etchingX-ray photoelectron spectroscopyRaman spectroscopy

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