Reduction of dislocation density in single crystal diamond by Ni-assisted selective etching and CVD regrowth

The development of large-area diamond films with low dislocation density plays a key role in diamond-based devices. In this study, we present a straightforward and reasonably priced Ni-assisted etching and re-growth method to decrease the dislocation density of diamond. By adjusting the annealing temperature, a high-density inverted pyramid and/or trapezoidal pit can be effectively exposed because the interaction between carbon and Ni metal. The Ni tends to dissolve the diamond surrounding the dislocation at high temperature while maintaining the surface's flatness. The precipitated graphite layer is removed using wet etching, and the step flow mode is then restored via the re-growth procedure. It shows that the dislocations located beneath the etching pits are partially annihilated during the lateral coalescence, resulting in a decrease in dislocation density.