Application of platelet CVD diamond to micromachine elements

Abstract

Applications of diamond to micro-scale machine elements often require the formation of sub-micron size patterns. Diamond may be an ideal candidate for obtaining structures of this scale due to its excellent mechanical properties and/or chemical stability and excellent tribological characteristics, and thus it may be a suitable material for such micromachine elements. Fortunately, platelet diamond prepared by the combustion flame method (Surf. Coatings Technol. 39/40 (1989) 235) is composed of hexagonal microplates and has a shape at the outset which makes it promising for use as a micromachine element material without requiring any elaborate machining operations. However, there have been no reports on the use of platelet diamond as a micromachine element material. In this paper, we report on experiments in which platelet diamond was applied to micromachine elements, such as a tool element for use as a micro-forming mold for plastics. A focused beam of 30 keV Ga+ ions was used in this work to fabricate sub-micron size patterns on the surfaces of single crystal diamond synthesized at a high temperature and high pressure, and on quasi-hexagonal platelet CVD diamond.