ABSTRACTFreestanding and suspended single crystal diamond devices, micro disks and beam structures, have been fabricated on single crystal diamond substrates using a lift-off process employing ion implantation followed by electrochemical etching. The ion implantation created subsurface damage in the diamond while the top surface was sufficiently undamaged that a subsequent homo-epitaxial diamond layer could be grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). After the CVD growth and patterning by lithography and reactive ion etching, the underlying damage layer was etched/removed by an electrochemical etch. Different implant ions and energies were simulated and tested to optimize the process. The electrochemical etching process was monitored by an optical video technique. The electrochemical etching process used both ac and dc applied electrical potentials. Photoluminescence (PL), Raman spectra, and polarized light transmission microscopy have been used to characterize the implanted substrate and lift-off films. AFM has been used to monitor the surface changes after mechanical polishing, ion implantation, CVD growth and the lift-off process. This research has revealed that the parameters of ion implantation (implant species, dose and energy) dramatically affect the lift-off process. The etching mechanism and critical parameters are discussed in this work. PL spectroscopy indicated differences between the uppermost layers of the homo-epitaxial film and the lift-off interface. Three principal classes of defects have been observed: growth defects inherent in the diamond substrates (type Ib, HPHT), defects induced by the polishing process and associated stress, and point defects.
Ultra-smooth single crystal diamond surfaces resulting from implantation and lift-off processes