Issue 12, 2016

Scalable fabrication of high-quality, ultra-thin single crystal diamond membrane windows

Abstract

High quality, ultra-thin single crystal diamond (SCD) membranes that have a thickness in the sub-micron range are of extreme importance as a materials platform for photonics, quantum sensing, nano/micro electro-mechanical systems (N/MEMS) and other diverse applications. However, the scalable fabrication of such thin SCD membranes is a challenging process. In this paper, we demonstrate a new method which enables high quality, large size (∼4 × 4 mm) and low surface roughness, low strain, ultra-thin SCD membranes which can be fabricated without deformations such as breakage, bowing or bending. These membranes are easy to handle making them particularly suitable for fabrication of optical and mechanical devices. We demonstrate arrays of single crystal diamond membrane windows (SCDMW), each up to 1 × 1 mm in dimension and as thin as ∼300 nm, supported by a diamond frame as thick as ∼150 μm. The fabrication method is robust, reproducible, scalable and cost effective. Microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition is used for in situ creation of single nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers into the thin SCDMW. We have also developed SCD drum head mechanical resonator composed of our fully clamped and freely suspended membranes.

Graphical abstract: Scalable fabrication of high-quality, ultra-thin single crystal diamond membrane windows

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
25 Nov 2015
Accepted
01 Mar 2016
First published
02 Mar 2016
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Nanoscale, 2016,8, 6860-6865

Scalable fabrication of high-quality, ultra-thin single crystal diamond membrane windows

A. H. Piracha, K. Ganesan, D. W. M. Lau, A. Stacey, L. P. McGuinness, S. Tomljenovic-Hanic and S. Prawer, Nanoscale, 2016, 8, 6860 DOI: 10.1039/C5NR08348F

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