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Two‐Step Reactive Ion Etching Process for Diamond‐Based Nanophotonics Structure Formation
Author(s) -
Golovanov Anton V.,
Luparev Nikolay V.,
Troschiev Sergey Yu.,
Tarelkin Sergei A.,
Shcherbakova Viktoriia S.,
Bormashov Vitaly S.
Publication year - 2021
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.202000206
Subject(s) - diamond , reactive ion etching , materials science , etching (microfabrication) , nanophotonics , optoelectronics , nanotechnology , surface roughness , ion source , plasma etching , ion , chemistry , composite material , layer (electronics) , organic chemistry
Diamond surface modification is one of the most important technological challenges in the creation of diamond quantum photonics devices. It is necessary to fabricate different 3D structures on the crystal surface with both vertical and V‐shaped etching grooves for waveguides, grating couplers, and mesastructures. Herein, the applicability of SF 6 ‐based plasma for diamond processing is studied. SF 6 plasma etches diamond five times faster than commonly used Ar/O 2 3:1 at the same pressure and bias, but it cannot provide vertical diamond structures due to the ion scattering. Herein, the two‐step plasma processing method is developed with Molybdenum protective masks that provide steep diamond 3D structures with sidewall roughness less than 40 nm and is, therefore, suitable for nanophotonics and other diamond applications. Mo can be chemically patterned by low‐power SF 6 plasma and then used as a hardmask for anisotropic etching of diamond in Ar/O 2 plasma with a selectivity of 27. Unlike common methods of diamond processing, the proposed two‐step method does not require chlorine.