Polishing of Polycrystalline Diamond Films

小奥克斯9361367 描述了一种用于抛光多晶金刚石膜的创新技术，该技术使用高通量、高平移能量（5至10伏）的原子氧束以掠入射来蚀刻表面粗糙度。 该方法在高通量下在反应性蚀刻剂能量范围内操作，这不是通过任何其他化学或物理方法获得的。 因此，该技术能够在低衬底温度下实现高抛光速率（0.2微米/分钟）。 此外，它是非侵入性的，本质上是可扩展的大面积（1000平方厘米）抛光。 在与工业界的合作努力中，已经证明了高效、高速的金刚石蚀刻和显著程度的表面抛光。 现有的抛光技术具有以下缺陷中的一个或多个：抛光速率慢、抛光面积小、抛光期间的高衬底温度、需要积极地处理金刚石膜或衬底、以及由于与高能离子的相互作用而导致缺陷和杂质并入金刚石膜中的可能性。 所提出的技术能够克服所有这些缺陷。 由于金刚石的优异性能，金刚石薄膜的潜在商业应用是广泛的。 特别地，抛光的多晶膜具有光学和摩擦学应用。 金刚石作为散热器的应用也将受益于这种技术。

9361367 Oakes An innovative technique for the polishing of polycrystalline diamond films is described which uses a high flux, high translational energy (5 to 10 volt) atomic oxygen beam at glancing incidence to etch surface roughness. The method operates in a reactive etchant energy range, at high flux, that is not obtained by any other chemical or physical method. As a result, the technique is capable of high polishing rates (0.2 micrometers/min) at low substrate temperatures. In addition, it is non intrusive and is intrinsically scalable for large area (1000 cm2) polishing. In a collaborative effort with industry, efficient, high rate diamond etching with a significant degree of surface finishing has been demonstrated. Existing polishing techniques suffer from one or more of the following deficiencies: slow polishing rate, small polishing areas, high substrate temperatures during polishing, the need to aggressively handle the diamond film or substrate, and the potential for defect and impurity incorporation into the diamond film resulting from interaction with energetic ions. The proposed technique is capable of overcoming all of these deficiencies. Due to diamonds superlative properties the potential commercial applications of diamond films are extensive. In particular, polished polycrystalline films have optical and tribological applications. Application of diamond as a heat sink will also benefit from this technique.