Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2brh9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-28T04:15:04.851Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effect of boron doping and gamma irradiation on the structure and properties of microwave chemical vapor deposited boron-doped diamond films

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

S. Gupta ,
M. Muralikiran ,
J. Farmer ,
L.R. Cao  and
R.G. Downing
S. Gupta*
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Missouri University Research Reactor, University of Missouri−Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211
M. Muralikiran
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Missouri University Research Reactor, University of Missouri−Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211
J. Farmer*
Affiliation:
Missouri University Research Reactor, University of Missouri−Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211
L.R. Cao
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Missouri University Research Reactor, University of Missouri−Columbia, Columbia, Missouri 65211
R.G. Downing
Affiliation:
NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20988
*
a) a) e-mail: [email protected]
b) e-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

We investigated the effects of gamma irradiation doses of 50, 100, and 103 kGy on boron-doped diamond (BDD) thin films synthesized using microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition with varying boron concentrations of [B]/[C]gas = 100, 1000, 2000, and 4000 ppm. The diamond thin films were characterized prior to and post-irradiation and the influence was assessed in terms of morphology, structure, and physical properties using scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, x-ray diffraction, vibrational spectroscopy (Raman and IR), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electrical measurement techniques. The results clearly showed that the response of gamma irradiation on BDD films was distinctive compared to those of undoped diamond films with changes in electronic behavior from metallic (>1019 to 1020 cm–3) to semiconducting (≤1019 cm–3), especially in the case of heavily boron-doped diamond films demonstrated by micro-Raman spectroscopy and electrical property characteristics. In fact, this modification in electrical property behavior induced by “gamma conditioning” can be effectively used to fine control boron doping in chemically vapor deposited diamond much needed for various electronic devices. The “gamma conditioning” refers to material processing by radiation which helps to passivate electrically active boron and defects with hydrogen migration thus fine tunes the boron acceptor concentration albeit that this is difficult to achieve during BDD film deposition. In addition, the results also indicate that almost all of the BDD films studied hereby tend to reach a state of damage saturation when submitted to gamma irradiation of 103 kGy. We discuss our novel findings in terms of the interplay of boron-hydrogen in diamond with possible multiple scenarios: (i) the generation of point/Frenkel defects due to Compton scattered electrons, (ii) the formation of a nonmetallic boron-rich borocarbide (e.g., B13C2) phase, (iii) the passivation of electrically active acceptor (B) sites due to the invariable presence of H in the grains and at the grain boundaries, (iv) the desorption of H from the diamond surface, and (v) the “priming or pumping” effect, which improves the electronic properties by compensating for the shallow boron acceptors to produce semiconducting/insulating material, verified by the cold neutron depth profiling technique.

Keywords

DiamondPlasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) (deposition)Radiation effects
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , April 2009 , pp. 1498 - 1512
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1Collins, A.T.: Properties and Growth of Diamond, edited by Davies, G. (Inspec, London, 1994).Google Scholar
2Kalish, R.: Properties and Growth of Diamond, Chap. 6, edited by Davies, G. (Inspec, London, 1994).Google Scholar
3Garrido, J.A.Nebel, C.E.Stutzmann, M.Gheeraert, E.Casanova, N.Bustarret, E. and Deneuville, A.: A new acceptor state in CVD-diamond. Diamond Relat. Mater. 11, 347 (2002)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4Isberg, J.Hammersberg, J.Johansson, E.Wikström, T., Twitchen, D.J.Whitehead, A.J.Coe, S.E. and Scarsbrook, G.A.: High carrier mobility in single-crystal plasma-deposited diamond. Science 297, 1670 (2003)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5Aleksov, A.Kubovic, M.Kaeb, N.Spitzberg, U.Bergmaier, A.Dollinger, G.Bauer, T.Schreck, M.Stritzker, B. and Kohn, E.: Diamond field effect transistors—Concepts and challenges. Diamond Relat. Mater. 12, 391 (2003)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6Fischer, A.E.Show, Y. and Swain, G.M.: Electrochemical performance of diamond thin-film electrodes from different commercial sources. Anal. Chem. 76, 2553 (2004)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7Grekhov, I.V. and Mesyats, G.A.: Nanosecond semiconductor diodes for pulsed power switching. Physics-Uspekhi 48, 703 (2005)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8RD42 Collaboration: Review of the development of diamond radiation sensors. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 434, 131 (1999)Google Scholar
9Guerrero, M.J.Tromson, D.Descamp, C. and Bergonzo, P.: Recent improvements on the use of CVD diamond ionization chambers for radiotherapy applications. Diamond Relat. Mater. 15, 811 (2006)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10Tapper, R.J.: Diamond detectors in particle physics. Rep. Prog. Phys. 63, 1273 (2000)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11Bruzzi, M.Bucciolini, M.Casati, M.DeAngelis, C.Lagomarsino, S.Løvik, I., Onori, S. and Sciortino, S.: CVD diamond particle detectors used as on-line dosimeters in clinical radiotherapy. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 518, 421 (2004)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12Kalish, R.Saguy, C.U.Philosoph, B.Richter, V. and Prawer, S.: Loss of electrical conductivity in boron-doped diamond due to ion-induced damage. Appl. Phys. Lett. 70, 999 (1997)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13Koizumi, S.Watanabe, K., Hasegawa, M. and Kanda, H.: Ultraviolet emission from a diamond pn junction. Science 292, 1899 (2001)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14Liao, M.Y.Koide, Y. and Alvarez, J.: High-performance metalsemiconductor- metal deep-ultraviolet photodetectors based on homoepitaxial diamond thin film. Appl. Phys. Lett. 89, 113509 (2006)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15Eiting, C.J.Krishnamoorthy, V.Rodgers, S.George, T.Robertson, J.D. and Brockman, J.: Demonstration of a radiation resistant, high efficiency SiC betavoltaic. Appl. Phys. Lett. 88, 064101 (2006)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16Gupta, S.Katiyar, R.S.Gilbert, D.R.Singh, R.K. and Morell, G.: Microstructural studies of diamond thin films grown by electron cyclotron resonance-assisted chemical vapor deposition. J. Appl. Phys. 88, 5695 (2000)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
17Kohn, E.Gluche, P. and Adamschik, M.: Diamond MEMS—A new emerging technology. Diamond Relat. Mater. 8, 934 (1999)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18Kalish, R.: The search for donors in diamond. Diamond Relat. Mater. 10, 1749 (2001)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19Gupta, S.Weiner, B.R. and Morell, G.: Synthesis and characterization of sulfur-incorporated microcrystalline diamond and nanocrystalline carbon thin films by hot filament chemical vapor deposition. J. Mater. Res. 18, 363 (2003)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20Williams, A.W.S.Lightowlers, E.C. and Collins, A.T.: Impurity conduction in synthetic semiconducting diamond. J. Phys. C: Solid State Phys. 3, 1727 (1970)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21Bustarret, E.Gheeraert, E. and Watanabe, K.: Optical and electronic properties of heavily boron-doped homo-epitaxial diamond. Phys. Status Solidi A 199, 9 (2003)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22Bennett, J.A.Wang, J.Show, Y. and Swain, G.M.: Effect of sp2-bonded nondiamond carbon impurity on the response of boron-doped polycrystalline diamond thin-film electrodes. J. Electrochem. Soc. 151, E306 (2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23Milazzo, L. and Mainwood, A.: Modeling of diamond radiation detectors. J. Appl. Phys. 96, 5845 (2004)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24Gonon, P.Prawer, S.Jamieson, D.N. and Nugent, K.W.: Radiation hardness of polycrystalline diamond. Diamond Relat. Mater. 6, 314 (1997)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
25Gupta, S.Weiss, B.L.Weiner, B.R.Pilione, L.Badzian, A. and Morell, G.: Electron field emission properties of gamma irradiated microcrystalline diamond and nanocrystalline carbon thin films. J. Appl. Phys. 92, 3311 (2002)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26Bruzzi, M.Miglio, S.Pirollo, S. and Sciortino, S.: Electrical properties and defect analysis of neutron irradiated undoped CVD diamond films. Diamond Relat. Mater. 10, 601 (2001)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27Gupta, S.Williams, O.A.Patel, R.J. and Haenen, K.: Residual stress, intermolecular force, and frictional properties distribution maps of diamond films for micro- and nano-electromechanical (M/NEMS) applications. J. Mater. Res. 21, 3037 (2006)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28Downing, R.G.Lamaze, G.P.Langland, J.K. and Hwang, S.T.: Neutron depth profiling: Overview and description of NIST facilities. J. Res. Natl. Inst. Stand. Technol. 98, 109 (1993)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
29Prayongpan, P.Stripe, D.S. and Greenlief, C.M.: Cycloadditionlike reactions at germanium (100) surfaces: Adsorption and reaction of 1,5-cyclooctadiene. Surf. Sci. 602, 571 (2008)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
30AgerIII, J.W.Walukiewicz, W.McMluskey, M.Plano, M.A. and Landstrass, M.I.: Fano interference of the Raman phonon in heavily boron-doped diamond films grown by chemical vapor deposition. Appl. Phys. Lett. 66, 616 (1995)Google Scholar
31Bernard, M.Baron, C. and Deneuville, A.: About the origin of the low wave number structures of the Raman spectra of heavily boron doped diamond films. Diamond Relat. Mater. 13, 896 (2004)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32Prawer, S. and Nemanich, R.J.: Raman spectroscopy of diamond and doped diamond. Proc. R. Soc. London Ser. A 362, 2537 (2004)Google ScholarPubMed
33Pruvost, P. and Deneuville, A.: Analysis of the Fano in diamond. Diamond Relat. Mater. 10, 531 (2001)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
34Fano, U.: Effects of configuration interaction on intensities and phase shifts. Phys. Rev. 124, 1866 (1961)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
35Newton, M.E.Campbell, B.A. and Twitchen, D.J.: Recombination-enhanced diffusion of self-interstitial atoms and vacancy—Interstitial recombination in diamond. Diamond Relat. Mater. 11, 618 (2002)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
36Walker, J.: Optical absorption and luminescence in diamond. Rep. Prog. Phys. 42, 1605 (1979)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
37Cao, L.R.Downing, R.G. and Gupta, S.: The analysis of gamma irradiated boron-doped diamond films by cold neutron depth profiling using computerized data reduction. ACNS Workshop, Santa Fe, New Mexico, May 11–15, Extended abstract (2008).Google Scholar
38Gilliam, D.M.Lamaze, G.P.Dewey, M.S. and Greene, G.L.: Mass assay and uniformity tests of boron targets by neutron beam methods. Nucl. Instrum. Methods Phys. Res., Sect. A 334, 149 (1993)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
39Ziegler, J.F.: SRIM—The stopping and range of ions in matter, http://www.srim.org/ (2008).Google Scholar
40Mort, J.Machonkin, M.A. and Okumura, K.: Infra-red absorption in boron-doped diamond thin films. Appl. Phys. Lett. 58, 1908 (1991)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
41Cullity, B.D.: Diffraction. II. Intensities of diffracted beams, in Elements of X-ray Diffraction, 2nd ed. (Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA, 1978), pp. 102–111.Google Scholar
42JCPDS No. 26–233. International Center for Diffraction Data: Newton Square, PA, 1984.Google Scholar
43Tallant, D.R.Aselage, T.L.Cambell, A.N. and Emin, D.: Boron carbide structure by Raman spectroscopy. Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter 40, 5649 (1989)CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
44Mehandru, S.P. and Anderson, A.B.: The migration of interstitial H in diamond and its pairing with substitutional B and N: Molecular orbital theory. J. Mater. Res. 9, 383 (1994)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
45Chevallier, J.Theys, B.Lusson, A. and Grattepain, C.: Hydrogenboron interactions in p-type diamond. Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter 58, 7966 (1998)CrossRefGoogle Scholar
46Chourasia, R.Chopra, D.R.Sharma, S.C.Green, M.Dark, C.A. and Hyer, R.C.: Characterization of low pressure deposited diamond films by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Thin Solid Films 193–194, 1079 (1990)CrossRefGoogle Scholar