Search

Diamond is a unique semiconductor for the fabrication of electronic and opto-electronic devices because of its exceptional physical and chemical properties. However, a serious obstacle to the realization of diamond-based devices is the lack of n-type diamond with satisfactory electrical properties. Here we show that high-conductivity n-type diamond can be achieved by deuteration of particularly selected homo-epitaxially grown (100) boron-doped diamond layers. Deuterium diffusion through the entire boron-doped layer leads to the passivation of the boron acceptors and to the conversion from highly p-type to n-type conductivity due to the formation of shallow donors with ionization energy of 0.23 eV. Electrical conductivities as high as 2omega(-1) x cm(-1) with electron mobilities of the order of a few hundred cm2 x V(-1) x s(-1) are measured at 300 K for samples with electron concentrations of several 10(16) x cm(-3). The formation and break-up of deuterium-related complexes, due to some excess deuterium in the deuterated layer, seem to be responsible for the reversible p- to n-type conversion. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time such an effect has been observed in an elemental semiconductor.

The lack of a shallow donor in diamond with reasonable room temperature conductivity has been a major obstacle, until now, for the realization of many diamond based electronic devices. Most recently it has been shown that exposure of p-type (B doped) homoepitaxial diamond layers to a deuterium plasma can result in the formation of n-type diamond with a shallow donor state (Ea=0.34 eV) and high room temperature mobility (430 cm2/V s) [Z. Teukam et al., Nat. Mater. 2, 482 (2003); C. Saguy et al., Diamond Relat. Mater. 13, 700 (2004)]. Experimental results, based on the comparison of secondary ion mass spectrometry profiles of B and D and Hall effect measurements at different temperatures are presented. They confirm the previous speculation that some deuterium related complex is responsible for the donor activity in diamond. These donors are shown to be formed in a two-step process. First, deuterium diffuses into the entire B containing layer rather slowly, being trapped by the boron acceptors and passivating them. Once all B have formed complexes, further exposure to a D plasma results in the formation of a layer that contains about twice as many D atoms as the B content. This step is the one that gives rise to the excellent n-type features observed. The most recent theoretical attempts to explain the donor state by simulations of various boron-hydrogen complexes in diamond are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]