@article{discovery10077144, month = {June}, number = {24}, journal = {Journal of Applied Physics}, publisher = {AIP Publishing}, year = {2019}, title = {Optimizing reactive ion etching to remove sub-surface polishing damage on diamond}, note = {This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.}, volume = {125}, issn = {1089-7550}, abstract = {Low defect smooth substrates are essential to achieve high quality diamond epitaxial growth and high performance devices. The optimization of the Ar/O2/CF4 reactive ion etching (RIE) plasma treatment for diamond substrate smoothing and its effectiveness to remove subsurface polishing damage are characterized. An O2/CF4 RIE process and the effect of different process parameters (inductively coupled plasma, platen power, and pressure) were initially examined. This process, however, still produced a detrimental effect to surface roughness, with etch pits across the surface of the sample. The addition of argon to the process achieved near-zero surface pit density and reduced roughness by 20\%-44\% after 6 and 10 {\ensuremath{\mu}}m etching. Iterative high-resolution X-ray diffraction measurements provided a nondestructive tool to examine the effectiveness of polishing damage removal and in this case reduced after removal of 6 {\ensuremath{\mu}}m of material from the surface of the diamond substrate with the smoothing treatment.}, author = {Hicks, M-L and Pakpour-Tabrizi, AC and Zuerbig, V and Kirste, L and Nebel, C and Jackman, RB}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5094751} }