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PUBLICATIONS

Rectangular Scale-Similar Etch Pits in Monocrystalline Diamond

Published

Author(s)

Craig D. McGray, Richard A. Allen, Marc J. Cangemi, Jon C. Geist

Abstract

Etching of monocrystalline diamond in oxygen and water vapor at 1100° C through small pores in a silicon nitride film produced smooth-walled rectangular cavities. The cavities were imaged by electron microscope and measured by interferometric microscopy. The observed cavities ranged in size from approximately 1 µm up to 72 µm wide, in each case exhibiting smooth, vertical sidewalls, a flat bottom, and a depth equal to half its width. Cavity boundaries were determined to lie along slow-etching (100) crystallographic planes, suggesting the possibility of a powerful class of techniques for high-aspect-ratio bulk micromachining of diamond.
Citation
Diamond and Related Materials
Volume
20
Issue
10
Pub Type
Journals

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

diamond, anisotropic etching, crystallographic etching, oxidation, micromachining, MEMS, nanofabrication
Nanotechnology

Citation

McGray, C. , Allen, R. , Cangemi, M. and Geist, J. (2011), Rectangular Scale-Similar Etch Pits in Monocrystalline Diamond, Diamond and Related Materials, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=908075 (Accessed October 28, 2025)

Issues

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Created September 15, 2011, Updated February 19, 2017
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