Free-standing mechanical and photonic nanostructures in single-crystal diamond

Nano Lett. 2012 Dec 12;12(12):6084-9. doi: 10.1021/nl302541e. Epub 2012 Nov 26.

Abstract

A variety of nanoscale photonic, mechanical, electronic, and optoelectronic devices require scalable thin film fabrication. Typically, the device layer is defined by thin film deposition on a substrate of a different material, and optical or electrical isolation is provided by the material properties of the substrate or by removal of the substrate. For a number of materials this planar approach is not feasible, and new fabrication techniques are required to realize complex nanoscale devices. Here, we report a three-dimensional fabrication technique based on anisotropic plasma etching at an oblique angle to the sample surface. As a proof of concept, this angled-etching methodology is used to fabricate free-standing nanoscale components in bulk single-crystal diamond, including nanobeam mechanical resonators, optical waveguides, and photonic crystal and microdisk cavities. Potential applications of the fabricated prototypes range from classical and quantum photonic devices to nanomechanical-based sensors and actuators.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.