Nanostructuring of single crystal diamond by reactive and non-reactive accelerated cluster erosion

Reactive accelerated cluster erosion (RACE) of single crystal artificial diamond has been used to fabricate various nano- and microstructures. Carbondioxide clusters of about 1000 molecules are accelerated to 100 keV to act as the eroding agent. Using movable shadow masks, the accelerated cluster beam may erode staircase structures acting as an optical grating. A cycloid gear has been generated via a stationary nickel mask. Non-reactive accelerated cluster erosion using argon clusters will be considered for comparison. Received 30 November 2000