Rapid fabrication of micron-sized CVD-diamond structures by microfluidic contact printing

In this contribution we report on a novel method for the growth of laterally patterned synthetic diamond films with submicron feature sizes. The lateral patterning is induced by depositing a nanodiamond-based seeding layer prior to the chemical vapor deposition of the diamond films. The seeding layer is prepared by a microfluidic approach, based on soft lithography with PDMS moulds, used in the microcontact printing. These moulds are prepared by electron-beam lithography of photoresist on silicon substrates. The master moulds are reusable, allowing for cheap, high-throughput manufacturing, and the resulting diamond microstructures exhibit an outstanding smoothness and structural reproducibility. Possible applications are expected in the fields of diamond electronics, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) as well as bio- and chemosensors. The abstract figure shows the SU-8 master mould (left). The resulting diamond structure (right) is shown, after chemical vapor deposition. The purple color originates from the settings of the optical microscope, used to get a high-contrast image. (C) 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim