Microcontact printing of monodiamond nanoparticles: an effective route to patterned diamond structure fabrication

By combining microcontact printing with a nanodiamond seeding technique, a precise micrometer-sized chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond pattern have been obtained. On the basis of the guidance of basic theoretical calculations, monodisperse detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs) were chosen as an "ink" material and oxidized poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) was selected to serve as a stamp because it features a higher interaction energy with the DNDs compared to that of the original PDMS. The adsorption kinetics shows an approximately exponential law with a maximum surface DND density of 3.4 × 10(10) cm(-2) after 20 min. To achieve a high transfer ratio of DNDs from the PDMS stamp to a silicon surface, a thin layer of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was spin coated onto the substrates. A microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition system was used to synthesize the CVD diamond on the seeded substrate areas. Precise diamond patterns with a low expansion ratio (3.6%) were successfully prepared after 1.5 h of deposition. Further increases in the deposition time typically lead to a high expansion rate (∼0.8 μm/h). The general pattern shape, however, did not show any significant change. Compared with conventional diamond pattern deposition methods, the technique described here offers the advantages of being simple, inexpensive, damage-free, and highly compatible, rendering it attractive for a broad variety of industrial applications.