Efficient removal method for diamond material

Abstract

The invention provides a method for efficiently removing a diamond material, which comprises the following steps: etching the diamond material to be thinned by adopting an ICP (Inductively Coupled Plasma) etching technology, and the process conditions of the ICP etching technology are as follows: the ICP source power is 50-5000 W, the ICP substrate power is 50-500 W, and the chamber air pressure is 1-100 mTorr. According to the method provided by the invention, the ICP source power, the ICP substrate power and the chamber air pressure of the ICP etching technology are accurately regulated and controlled, so that the better diamond surface quality can be maintained while the diamond removal rate is improved, and compared with an existing polishing process, the large-area diamond surface can be quickly removed, and the surface quality of the diamond is improved. And damage caused by machining on the surface of the material is eliminated, lossless machining is achieved, and the equipment is easy to operate and high in practicability.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of diamond surface processing technology, specifically relating to an efficient method for removing diamond materials. Background Technology

[0002] Diamond, due to its extremely high hardness, thermal conductivity, and wide band gap, is widely used in electronic devices, optoelectronic equipment, and cutting tools. However, its exceptional hardness, excellent corrosion resistance, and radiation resistance make it difficult to process quickly and efficiently, making efficient diamond processing a recognized challenge in the diamond industry. Therefore, developing rapid and efficient diamond removal processes is a highly promising endeavor that will drive the wider application of diamonds.

[0003] Inductively coupled plasma etching (ICP), as an emerging technology, has attracted much attention due to its rapid material removal capabilities and excellent surface quality. ICP etching technology utilizes a high-frequency electromagnetic field to ionize gas into plasma, which then removes material through a chemical reaction. Compared to traditional mechanical polishing and chemical mechanical polishing, ICP etching technology offers significantly higher removal rates and more precise thickness control, effectively avoiding over- or under-polishing.

[0004] However, while ICP etching can rapidly remove diamond, it tends to roughen the diamond surface, increasing its roughness from the nanometer level to the micrometer level. Furthermore, the continuous bombardment of plasma causes deformation and strengthening of the roughened diamond surface, making it difficult to polish to a high degree of smoothness. Additionally, the continuous plasma bombardment causes a rapid increase in the surface temperature of the diamond sample, slowing down the removal efficiency. Therefore, finding a way to rapidly and efficiently remove diamond using ICP technology while maintaining or even optimizing the quality of the diamond surface remains a significant challenge. Summary of the Invention

[0005] To solve all or part of the above-mentioned technical problems, the present invention provides the following technical solutions: This invention mainly provides a method for efficiently removing diamond material. The efficient removal method includes: etching the diamond material to be thinned using ICP etching technology. The process conditions of the ICP etching technology include: ICP source power of 50W~5000W, ICP substrate power of 50W~500W, and chamber gas pressure of 1mTorr~100mTorr.

[0006] In some embodiments, the power of the ICP source is 200W~2000W, more preferably 800W~2000W.

[0007] In some embodiments, the power of the ICP substrate is 50W~400W, more preferably 250W~400W.

[0008] In some embodiments, the chamber pressure is 10 mTorr to 50 mTorr, more preferably 20 mTorr to 30 mTorr.

[0009] In some embodiments, the etching gas used in the ICP etching technology includes one or more of O2, Ar, SF6, CHF3, BCl3, and Cl2, but is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, a gas containing Cl2 is used. - and F - The gas.

[0010] In some embodiments, the efficient removal method for diamond material specifically includes: placing the diamond material to be thinned in the transfer chamber of an ICP etching apparatus, making the pressure of the process chamber close to that of the transfer chamber, then transferring the sample stage to the process chamber, and setting the ICP source power, ICP substrate power and chamber gas pressure to perform the etching.

[0011] In some embodiments, the efficient removal method for diamond material further includes: pre-treating and cleaning the diamond material to be thinned before etching.

[0012] In some embodiments, the pretreatment cleaning specifically includes: cleaning the diamond material to be thinned in a boiling piranha solution for more than 8 hours, then cleaning it with anhydrous ethanol and / or acetone solution, and then purging it clean with inert gas.

[0013] In some embodiments, the diamond material is single-crystal diamond, polycrystalline diamond, or polycrystalline diamond.

[0014] In some embodiments, the removal rate of the efficient removal method is above 30 µm / h.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: By optimizing the process parameters such as ICP source power, ICP substrate power, and chamber gas pressure of ICP etching technology, the present invention has found that under the process conditions of ICP source power of 50W~5000W, ICP substrate power of 50W~500W, and chamber gas pressure of 1mTorr~100 mTorr, not only can a high diamond removal rate be obtained (the removal rate can reach more than 30 µm / h in some preferred embodiments), but also the surface quality can be improved, enabling rapid removal of large-area diamond surfaces, eliminating surface damage to materials caused by mechanical processing, achieving non-destructive processing, and the equipment is simple to operate and highly practical. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 This is a micrometer-measured image of the diamond film thickness before ICP etching. Figure 2 This is the Raman curve of the diamond before ICP etching; Figure 3 This is a diamond roughness test image measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM) before ICP etching; Figure 4 This is a micrometer-measured image of the diamond film thickness after ICP etching in Example 3; Figure 5 This is the Raman curve of the diamond after ICP etching in Example 3; Figure 6 This is a diamond roughness test image after ICP etching in Example 3, measured by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Detailed Implementation

[0018] The invention will be more fully understood through the following detailed description, which should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Detailed embodiments of the invention are disclosed herein; however, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, the specific functional details disclosed herein should not be construed as limiting, but rather as the basis for the claims and as intended to teach those skilled in the art to employ the representative basis of the invention in different ways in any suitable detailed embodiment.

[0019] In addition, unless otherwise specified, all raw materials used in the following embodiments can be purchased from the market or other sources, and all production and testing equipment used are known in the art, as are the testing methods used.

[0020] Example 1

[0021] This embodiment provides a highly efficient method for removing diamond materials, specifically including: (1) Prepare a piranha solution (H2SO4:H2O2=7:3), place the diamond in the boiling piranha solution to clean for 8 hours, then repeatedly clean in anhydrous ethanol and acetone solutions, and finally purge with nitrogen to obtain a clean diamond. (2) Place the cleaned diamond on the sample stage of the ICP etching equipment and send it into the transfer chamber. Set the ICP substrate power to 250 W, the chamber pressure to 30 mTorr, and the ICP source power to 200 W. Use O2 / Ar with a volume ratio of 1:1 for the etching gas. Wait until the pressure in the process chamber is close to that in the transfer chamber, then transfer the sample stage to the process chamber for etching until the diamond is thinned to the required thickness. After the etching process is complete, remove the sample stage from the process chamber and transfer it to the transfer chamber, then remove the etched diamond.

[0022] Examples 2-7

[0023] Examples 2-7 are basically the same as Example 1, except that the ICP source power in step (2) of Examples 2-7 is changed according to Table 1. The rest are implemented in the same way as Example 1, and will not be repeated here.

[0024] Table 1

[0025] Comparing Examples 1-7, it was found that when the ICP source power is greater than 800 W, the diamond removal rate increases rapidly. Through comprehensive research in this invention, it was found that when the ICP source power is in the range of 800 W to 2000 W, both the removal rate and the diamond surface quality are superior.

[0026] Example 8

[0027] This embodiment provides a highly efficient method for removing diamond materials, specifically including: (1) Prepare a piranha solution (H2SO4:H2O2=7:3), place the diamond in the boiling piranha solution to clean for 8 hours, then repeatedly clean in anhydrous ethanol and acetone solutions, and finally purge with nitrogen to obtain a clean diamond. (2) Place the cleaned diamond on the sample stage of the ICP etching equipment and send it into the transfer chamber. Set the ICP substrate power to 50 W, the chamber pressure to 40 mTorr, and the ICP source power to 1100 W. Use O2 as the etching gas. Wait until the pressure in the process chamber is close to that in the transfer chamber, then transfer the sample stage to the process chamber for etching until the diamond is thinned to the required thickness. After the etching process is complete, remove the sample stage from the process chamber and transfer it to the transfer chamber, then remove the etched diamond.

[0028] Examples 9-12

[0029] Examples 9-12 are basically the same as Example 8, except that the ICP substrate power in step (2) of Examples 9-12 is changed according to Table 2. The rest are implemented in the same way as Example 8, and will not be repeated here.

[0030] Table 3

[0031] Comparative studies of Examples 8-12 revealed that during the etching process, the removal rate increased rapidly when the ICP substrate power was greater than 250 W. Comprehensive research in this invention found that when the ICP substrate power was in the range of 250 W to 400 W, both the removal rate and the diamond surface quality were superior.

[0032] Example 13

[0033] This embodiment provides a highly efficient method for removing diamond materials, specifically including: (1) Prepare a piranha solution (H2SO4:H2O2=7:3), place the diamond in the boiling piranha solution to clean for 8 hours, then repeatedly clean in anhydrous ethanol and acetone solutions, and finally purge with nitrogen to obtain a clean diamond. (2) Place the cleaned diamond on the sample stage of the ICP etching equipment and send it into the transfer chamber. Set the ICP substrate power to 300 W, the chamber pressure to 10 mTorr, and the ICP source power to 800 W. Use O2 and CHF3 with a volume ratio of 3:2 for the etching gas. Wait until the pressure in the process chamber is close to that in the transfer chamber, then transfer the sample stage to the process chamber for etching until the diamond is thinned to the required thickness. After the etching process is complete, remove the sample stage from the process chamber and transfer it to the transfer chamber, then remove the etched diamond.

[0034] Examples 14-17

[0035] Examples 14-17 are basically the same as Example 13, except that the chamber pressure in step (2) of Examples 14-17 is changed according to Table 3. The rest are implemented in the same way as in Example 13, and will not be repeated here.

[0036] Table 3

[0037] Comparing Examples 13-17, it can be seen that during the etching process, the removal rate first increases and then decreases with the increase of the chamber gas pressure. Based on the comprehensive research of this application, it was found that when the chamber gas pressure is in the range of 20 mTorr to 30 mTorr, both the removal rate and the diamond surface quality are better.

[0038] In summary, this invention improves the surface quality of diamond materials while increasing the removal rate by precisely controlling the process parameters of ICP etching. Compared to existing polishing techniques, the method provided by this invention removes diamond surfaces at a faster rate, produces no waste pollution, and is environmentally friendly. Furthermore, compared to existing ICP processes, the optimized ICP process parameters of this invention can achieve an increase in the surface quality of diamond samples without decreasing them, while maintaining high removal efficiency.

[0039] In addition, the inventors of this case also conducted experiments with other raw materials, process operations, and process conditions described in this specification, referring to the aforementioned embodiments, and obtained relatively ideal results in all cases.

[0040] All aspects, embodiments, features, and examples of this invention should be considered illustrative and used to explain and illustrate the invention, but not to limit the invention. The scope of the invention is defined only by the claims.

[0041] Although the invention has been described with reference to illustrative embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that various other changes, omissions, and / or additions can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, and that elements of the described embodiments can be substituted with substantially equivalents. Furthermore, many modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention to adapt particular situations or materials to the teachings of the invention. Therefore, this invention is not intended to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed for carrying out the invention, but rather is intended to encompass all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A highly efficient method for removing diamond materials, characterized in that, include: The diamond material to be thinned is etched using ICP etching technology. The process conditions of the ICP etching technology include: ICP source power of 50W~5000W, ICP substrate power of 50W~500W, and chamber gas pressure of 1mTorr~100mTorr.

2. The efficient removal method for diamond materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power of the ICP source is 800W~2000W.

3. The efficient removal method for diamond materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power of the ICP substrate is 250W~400W.

4. The efficient removal method for diamond materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: The chamber pressure is 20 mTorr to 30 mTorr.

5. The efficient removal method for diamond materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: The etching gas used in the ICP etching technology includes one or more of the following: O2, Ar, SF6, CHF3, BCl3, and Cl2.

6. The efficient removal method for diamond materials according to claim 1, characterized in that, Specifically, it includes: The diamond material to be thinned is placed in the transfer chamber of the ICP etching equipment, so that the pressure of the process chamber is close to that of the transfer chamber. Then, the sample stage is transferred to the process chamber, and the ICP source power, ICP substrate power and chamber gas pressure are set to perform the etching.

7. The efficient removal method for diamond materials according to claim 1, characterized in that, Also includes: Before the etching is performed, the diamond material to be thinned is pretreated and cleaned.

8. The efficient removal method for diamond materials according to claim 7, characterized in that, The pretreatment cleaning specifically includes: cleaning the diamond material to be thinned in a boiling piranha solution for more than 8 hours, then cleaning it with anhydrous ethanol and / or acetone solution, and finally purging it with inert gas.

9. The efficient removal method for diamond materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: The diamond material is single-crystal diamond, polycrystalline diamond, or polycrystalline diamond.

10. The efficient removal method for diamond materials according to claim 1, characterized in that: The removal rate of the efficient removal method is above 30 µm / h.

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