Nanoprocessing of diamond using a variable pressure scanning electron microscope

We demonstrated diamond processing using a variable pressure scanning electron microscope. Dents were formed in diamond by electron beam irradiation in air, nitrogen gas, oxygen gas, and water vapor. The processing in oxygen atmosphere showed the highest efficiency. The processing mechanism can be explained in terms of gas ion sputtering and chemical reaction. We used this method to remove residue on a diamond device, which showed that it is practical for fabricating diamond-based nano-devices.