Top-Down Fabrication of Diamond Nanostructures

Abstract

Diamond nanostructures can have exciting applications in electronics and thermal management, but their controlled fabrication can be challenging. Here, we present a top-down approach for the fabrication of diamond nanorod (DNR) clusters, via use of metal masks (Al, Ag, Au, and Cr) and reactive-ion etching (RIE). Prolonged RIE on Ag and Cr masks yields distinct etching profiles, and DNR clusters are selectively formed from Ag masks, with individual nanorods having dimensions of ~100 nm diameter and ~1.5 µm length. Detailed electron microscopy shows thin layer of amorphous carbon (a-C) around single crystalline DNR cores. Chemical analyses also show presence of oxygen on the surface of the DNRs. Fabrication of the DNR clusters with scalable top-down approach could lead to new nanodiamond-based applications.

Keywords: Diamond, Nanostructures, nanofabrication, lift-off process, reactive-ion etching, electron microscopy