Open AccessSTRUCTURING OF DIAMOND FILMS USING MICROSPHERE LITHOGRAPHY
Author(s) -
Mária Domonkos,
Tibor Ižák,
L. Štolcová,
Jan Proška,
P. Demo,
Alexander Kromka
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
acta polytechnica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.207
H-Index - 15
eISSN - 1805-2363
pISSN - 1210-2709
DOI - 10.14311/ap.2014.54.0320
Subject(s) - diamond , materials science , nanotechnology , etching (microfabrication) , reactive ion etching , scanning electron microscope , fabrication , chemical vapor deposition , lithography , plasma etching , nanosphere lithography , optoelectronics , layer (electronics) , composite material , alternative medicine , pathology , medicine
In this study, the structuring of micro- and nanocrystalline diamond thin lms is demonstrated. The structuring of the diamond lms is performed using the technique of microsphere lithography followed by reactive ion etching. Specifically, this paper presents a four-step fabrication process: diamond deposition (microwave plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition), mask preparation (by the standard Langmuir-Blodgett method), mask modification and diamond etching. A self-assembled monolayer of monodisperse polystyrene (PS) microspheres with close-packed ordering is used as the primary template. Then the PS microspheres and the diamond films are processed in capacitively coupled radiofrequency plasma using different plasma chemistries. This fabrication method illustrates the preparation of large arrays of periodic and homogeneous hillock-like structures. The surface morphology of processed diamond films is characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscope. The potential applications of such diamond structures in various fields of nanotechnology are also briefly discussed.