Fabrication of diamond-like carbon-based two-dimensional photonic crystals

• A process for fabricating DLC-based two-dimensional photonic crystals is developed.
• Plasma chemical vapor deposition was used to deposit a DLC layer.
• The feasibility of DLC-based photonic crystals is theoretically investigated.
• A DLC photonic crystal was successfully fabricated using the developed process.

In this paper, we discuss the development of a process for fabricating diamond-like carbon (DLC)-based two-dimensional photonic crystals with a wider electronic bandgap and better thermostability than silicon (Si), which is used widely in nanophotonics. In the developed process, the DLC film was deposited on an Si substrate by RF plasma chemical vapor deposition, and the refractive index of the film could be changed from 1.8 to 1.95 by varying the RF power. We also theoretically show that a wide photonic bandgap can be obtained with these DLC-based photonic crystals, even though they have a low refractive index compared to pure diamond. Finally, we develop a process for fabricating DLC-based photonic crystal structures by using electron-beam lithography and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) etching techniques.

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