Bias assisted etching of diamond in a conventional chemical vapor deposition reactor

A novel technique for selectively etching diamond films is presented. This letter describes a technique by which diamond may be etched in a conventional plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (CVD) reactor at rates comparable to those reported for both electron cyclotron resonance and reactive ion etching techniques. This technique involves negatively biasing the diamond film, while it is immersed in a mostly hydrogen containing plasma. Negative dc bias assisted etching of CVD diamond films is performed in both microwave and dc plasma reactors over a wide range of temperatures and pressures. Speculation on the etching mechanisms is also included.