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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.
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 1, 2025)