Planar fabrication of arrays of ion-exfoliated single-crystal-diamond membranes with nitrogen-vacancy color centers

We demonstrate a planar ion-exfoliation/dry etching fabrication-process for high-optical-quality single-crystal-diamond membranes. The process allows patterning of an array of 200 nm-thick membranes with millimeter-to-micrometer dimensions and exfoliation of the thin films from a single-crystal diamond sample via a parallel fabrication process. The optical properties of the films are measured using transmission microscopy, Raman and fluorescence spectroscopy. The process yields a measured nitrogen-vacancy emission spectra having the zero-phonon line (ZPL) peak of negatively charged centers in an unshifted spectral position suggesting high quality crystalline material.

► We demonstrate exfoliation of high-quality single-crystal thin-films (200 nm) of diamond in parallel form. ► The process recovers nitrogen-vacancy emission spectrum with zero-phonon line (ZPL) of negatively charged centers. ► Dry etching and annealing of the backside of the films (stopping region) is shown to yield transparent films. ► We show the compatibility of the membrane with planar photonic devices by patterning periodic nanostructures in the films.