Micropatterning of Synthetic Diamond by Metal Contact Etching with Ti Powder

Due to the high hardness and chemical stability of diamond, micropatterning of diamond surfaces is a manufacturing challenge that limits the wide application of diamond. In this paper, uniformly distributed micropatterns were produced on the surface of synthetic diamond by metal contact etching of spherical Ti powder. The effects of spherical Ti powder particle size and etching temperature on the size and depth of the micropatterns were investigated. The results showed that the proportion of the patterned area on the diamond surface decreased with the particle size increase of spherical Ti powder. However, the size and depth of the micropatterns increased. In addition, both of the pattern area proportion of the diamond surface and the size and depth of the micropatterns increased with the rise of etching temperature. Importantly, diamond etching was achieved using Ti powder without appearance of graphitization of the diamond. This work is of significance for the customization of micropatterns on diamond surface and can further expand the application of diamond.