Nanopatterning of ultrananocrystalline diamond thin films via block copolymer lithography

Nanopatterning of diamond surfaces is critical for the development of diamond-based microelectromechanical system/nanoelectromechanical system (MEMS/NEMS), such as resonators or switches. Micro-/nanopatterning of diamond materials is typically done using photolithography or electron beam lithography combined with reactive ion etching (RIE). In this work, we demonstrate a simple process, block copolymer (BCP) lithography, for nanopatterning of ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films to produce nanostructures suitable for the fabrication of NEMS based on UNCD. In BCP lithography, nanoscale self-assembled polymeric domains serve as an etch mask for pattern transfer. The authors used thin films of a cylinder-forming organic-inorganic BCP, poly(styrene-block-ferrocenyldimethylsilane), PS-b-PFS, as an etch mask on the surface of UNCD films. Orientational control of the etch masking cylindrical PFS blocks is achieved by manipulating the polymer film thickness in concert with the annealing treatment. We have observed that the surface roughness of UNCD layers plays an important role in transferring the pattern. Oxygen RIE was used to etch the exposed areas of the UNCD film underneath the BCP. Arrays of both UNCD posts and wirelike structures have been created using the same starting polymeric materials as the etch mask.