Direct observation of the etching of damaged surface layers from natural diamond by low-energy oxygen ion bombardment

The interaction of oxygen ions with diamond surfaces is reported. Using electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS), we found that 200 eV oxygen ion bombardment removed surface damaged layers (non-sp3 bonded), recovering diamond EELS features in the surface region, Higher-energy oxygen ion bombardment does not produce surfaces as ideal as the 200 eV case. The oxygen surface concentration after the 200 eV oxygen ion irradiation, examined using Auger electron spectroscopy, was determined to be ∼1×1015 cm−2.