Ssm. Chan et al., LASER PROJECTION PATTERNING FOR THE FORMATION OF THIN-FILM DIAMOND MICROSTRUCTURES, DIAMOND AND RELATED MATERIALS, 5(3-5), 1996, pp. 317-320
Projection patterned excimer laser radiation at 193 nn has been used t
o etch free-standing polycrystalline diamond films. Excellent lateral
reproduction of images down to 2 lan has been achieved, but features e
volve with a side wall. that slopes at around 25 degrees to the normal
; this limits the depth of each feature in relation to its lateral dim
ension. However, three-dimensional microgears, with a diameter of 930
mu m, have been successfully fabricated using this technique. Patterni
ng in air gives rise to etch rates as high as 31 nm per laser pulse, b
ut in an evacuated environment this is reduced to around 0.6 nm; furth
ermore, Raman spectra indicate that patterning in vacuo leaves strongl
y modified surfaces, whilst air processing causes little degradation t
o the diamond film.