Nanowhiskers formation by radio frequency Ar/O2 plasma etching of aluminum coated diamond films

Diamond nanowhiskers were fabricated by etching as-grown and aluminum coated diamond films in radio frequency (RF) Ar/O2 plasma. It was found that diamond nanowhiskers could be obtained by anisotropic etching of both kinds of films. For the as-grown diamond film, the whiskers randomly formed on the diamond surface with higher etching rate. However, for the Al-coated diamond film, an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy measurement revealed that the distribution of the whiskers was the same as that of the coated Al particles. During the etching process, Al particles served as masks contributing to restraining the etching of the film underneath. It was found that the distribution of the whiskers was significantly influenced by the Al coating. The whiskers (1 μm in height and 50 nm in diameter) could be obtained under the optimum etching condition. In addition, the dependence of the distribution of the whiskers on Al coating time was demonstrated.