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Rapid fabrication of micron‐sized CVD‐diamond structures by microfluidic contact printing
Author(s) -
Vandenryt Thijs,
Grieten Lars,
Janssens Stoffel D.,
van Grinsven Bart,
Haenen Ken,
Ruttens Bart,
D'Haen Jan,
Wagner Patrick,
Thoelen Ronald,
De Ceuninck Ward
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.201330665
Subject(s) - materials science , diamond , chemical vapor deposition , photoresist , nanotechnology , microcontact printing , fabrication , layer (electronics) , lithography , soft lithography , silicon , deposition (geology) , optoelectronics , composite material , medicine , paleontology , alternative medicine , pathology , sediment , biology
In this contribution we report on a novel method for the growth of laterally patterned synthetic diamond films with submicron feature sizes. The lateral patterning is induced by depositing a nanodiamond‐based seeding layer prior to the chemical vapor deposition of the diamond films. The seeding layer is prepared by a microfluidic approach, based on soft lithography with PDMS moulds, used in the microcontact printing. These moulds are prepared by electron‐beam lithography of photoresist on silicon substrates. The master moulds are reusable, allowing for cheap, high‐throughput manufacturing, and the resulting diamond microstructures exhibit an outstanding smoothness and structural reproducibility. Possible applications are expected in the fields of diamond electronics, micro‐electro‐mechanical systems (MEMS) as well as bio‐ and chemosensors. The abstract figure shows the SU‐8 master mould (left). The resulting diamond structure (right) is shown, after chemical vapor deposition. The purple color originates from the settings of the optical microscope, used to get a high‐contrast image.