Review on FIB-induced damage in diamond materials

Background: Although various advanced FIB processing methods for the fabrication of 3D nanostructures have been successfully developed by many researchers, the FIB milling has an unavoidable result in terms of the implantation of ion source materials and the formation of damaged layer at the near surface. Understanding the ion-solid interactions physics provides a unique way to control the FIB produced defects in terms of their shape and location.
Methods: We have carefully selected peer-reviewed papers which mainly focusing on the review questions of this paper. A deductive content analysis method was used to analyse the methods, findings and conclusions of these papers. Based on their research methods, we classify their works in different groups. The theory of ion-matter interaction and the previous investigation on ion-induced damage in diamond were reviewed and discussed.
Results: The previous research work has provided a systematic analysis of ion-induced damage in diamond. Both experimental and simulation methods have been developed to understand the damage process. The damaged layers created in FIB processing process can significantly degrade/alter the device performance and limit the applications of FIB nanofabrication technique. There are still challenges involved in fabricating large, flat, and uniform TEM samples in undoped non-conductive diamond.
Conclusions: The post-facto-observation leaves a gap in understanding the formation process of ion-induced damage, forcing the use of assumptions. In contrast, MD simulations of ion bombardment have shed much light on ion beam mixing for decades. These activities make it an interesting and important task to understand what the fundamental effects of energetic particles on matter are.