# Patterning of diamond with 10 nm resolution by electron-beam-induced etching

## TL;DR

This paper presents a novel mask-less electron-beam-induced etching method for diamond, achieving 10 nm resolution and enabling high-precision nano-patterning for optical and electronic applications.

## Contribution

The study introduces a low-damage, water vapor-assisted SEM technique for high-resolution diamond etching down to 10 nm without masks or resists.

## Key findings

- Achieved 10 nm feature size in diamond etching.
- Demonstrated trenches with varying depths and aspect ratios.
- Enabled mask-less patterning for nano-optical and electronic devices.

## Abstract

We report on mask-less, high resolution etching of diamond surfaces, featuring sizes down to 10 nm. We use a scanning electron microscope (SEM) together with water vapor, which was injected by a needle directly onto the sample surface. Using this versatile and low-damage technique, trenches with different depths were etched. Cross sections of each trench were obtained by focused ion beam milling and used to calculate the achieved aspect ratios. The developed technique opens up the possibility of mask- and resist-less patterning of diamond for nano-optical and electronic applications.