The effect of Au and O implantation on the etch rate of CVD diamond

Diamond films were implanted with Au or O ions at multiple energies in order to produce a uniform region of C vacancies. Analysis of the implanted films by Raman spectroscopy has shown that the proportion of non-diamond or amorphous carbon increased with dose (5×10 ¹³ to 5×10 ¹⁵ ions/cm ² ). For implantation with Au ions, a complete amorphization near to the surface was evident at a dose of 5×10 ¹⁵ ions/cm ² . We have examined the ion beam etch (IBE) rate of the films as a function of the implant species and dose. The etching experiments were performed using either Ar or Ar/O ₂ gases at a bias energy of 500-1000eV. In Ar gas, the process of sputter etching has produced a similar increase in etch rate with dose for both the Au and O implants. In Ar/O ₂ gases, the process of ion-enhanced chemical etching produced greater etch rates than obtained in Ar gas with higher rates for the Au than the O implants.