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Achieving large uniform tensile elasticity in microfabricated diamond
Chaoqun Dang1, Jyh-Pin Chou1,2, Bing Dai3
1Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|January 1, 2021
Summary
Researchers applied deep elastic strain engineering to microfabricated diamond structures, significantly reducing its bandgap. This breakthrough unlocks diamond
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Solid-State Electronics
Background:
- Diamond exhibits extreme properties: ultimate hardness, ultrawide bandgap, high carrier mobility, and thermal conductivity.
- Straining diamond offers a pathway to further enhance its material properties for advanced device applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of deep elastic strain on diamond's electronic band structure.
- To explore the potential of strain engineering for novel diamond-based devices.
Main Methods:
- Microfabrication of single-crystalline diamond bridge structures (~1 micrometer length, ~100 nanometer width).
- Application of uniaxial tensile loading along [100], [101], and [111] directions to achieve uniform elastic strains.
- Demonstration of deep elastic straining on diamond microbridge arrays at room temperature.
Main Results:
- Achieved sample-wide uniform elastic strains in diamond microstructures.
- Demonstrated deep elastic straining, inducing ultralarge and controllable strain values.
- Calculated a substantial bandgap reduction of up to ~2 electron volts due to applied strains.
Conclusions:
- Deep elastic strain engineering fundamentally alters diamond's bulk band structure.
- The demonstrated technique holds immense potential for advancing photonics, electronics, and quantum information technologies.
