Photoacoustic spectroscopy of diamond powders and polycrystalline films

Photoacoustic spectroscopy is used to study optical absorption in diamond powders and polycrystalline films. The photoacoustic spectra of diamond powders with crystallite sizes in the range from ∼100 μm to 4 nm and diamond films grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) had a number of general characteristic features corresponding to the fundamental absorption edge for light with photon energies exceeding the width of the diamond band gap (∼5.4 eV) and to absorption in the visible and infrared by crystal-structure defects and the presence of non-diamond carbon. For samples of thin (∼10 μm) diamond films on silicon, the photoacoustic spectra revealed peculiarities associated with absorption in the silicon substrate of light transmitted by the diamond film. The shape of the spectral dependence of the amplitude of the photoacoustic signal in the ultraviolet indicates considerable scattering of light specularly reflected from the randomly distributed faces of the diamond crystallites both in the polycrystalline films and in the powders. The dependence of the shape of the photoacoustic spectra on the light modulation frequency allows one to estimate the thermal conductivity of the diamond films, which turns out to be significantly lower than the thermal conductivity of single-crystal diamond. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 39, 1787–1791 (October 1997)     

Conductivity of boron-doped polycrystalline diamond films: influence of specific boron defects

The resistivity of boron doped polycrystalline diamond films changes with boron content in a very complex way with many unclear factors. From the large number of parameters affecting boron doped polycrystalline diamond film’s conductivity we focused on the role of boron atoms inside diamond grains in terms of boron contribution to the continuum of diamond electronic states. Using a combination of theoretical and experimental techniques (plane-wave Density Functional Theory, Neutron Depth Profiling, resistivity and Hall effect measurements, Atomic Force Microscopy and Raman spectroscopy) we studied a wide range of B defect parameters — the boron concentration, location, structure, free hole concentration and mobility. The main goal and novelty of our work was to find the influence of B defects (structure, interactions, charge localisation and spins) in highly B-doped diamonds — close or above the metal-insulator transition – on the complex material charge transport mechanisms.     

Tunneling spectroscopy and vortex imaging in boron-doped diamond

We present the first scanning tunneling spectroscopy study of single-crystalline boron-doped diamond. The measurements were performed below 100 mK with a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The tunneling density of states displays a clear superconducting gap. The temperature evolution of the order parameter follows the weak-coupling BCS law with Delta(0)/kBTc approximately 1.74. Vortex imaging at low magnetic field also reveals localized states inside the vortex core that are unexpected for such a dirty superconductor.     

氢、氧终端掺硼金刚石薄膜的电子结构

利用氢微波等离子体溅射和浓酸中沸煮方法分别制备了氢、氧终端掺硼金刚石薄膜.借助X射线光电子能谱及接触角检测对两种终端薄膜表面进行了分析,通过扫描探针显微镜研究了针尖和样品间的扫描隧道谱.结果表明,氢终端掺硼金刚石表面能带向上弯曲,在高于价带顶位置存在浅受主能级;氧终端表面能带向下弯曲,带隙较宽,带隙中不存在表面态.对两种终端金刚石薄膜的导电机理进行了讨论. 关键词： 氢终端 氧终端 掺硼金刚石薄膜 电子结构     

氢、氧终端掺硼金刚石薄膜的电子结构

利用氢微波等离子体溅射和浓酸中沸煮方法分别制备了氢、氧终端掺硼金刚石薄膜.借助X射线光电子能谱及接触角检测对两种终端薄膜表面进行了分析，通过扫描探针显微镜研究了针尖和样品间的扫描隧道谱.结果表明，氢终端掺硼金刚石表面能带向上弯曲，在高于价带顶位置存在浅受主能级；氧终端表面能带向下弯曲，带隙较宽，带隙中不存在表面态.对两种终端金刚石薄膜的导电机理进行了讨论.     

Hopping conductivity in polycrystalline diamond films

The results of the experimental study of the conductivity of a polycrystalline diamond film by dielectric spectroscopy are presented. A diamond film about 200 μm thick was grown by microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition for 180 h. Two pronounced local peaks in the frequency dependence of the conductivity were observed. The relevant frequencies were temperature-dependent. These data permit us to hypothesize that the hopping mechanism of conductivity occurs in the polycrystalline diamond film. Two types of electrically active centers with different activation energies and relaxation times are involved in the conductivity.     

Observation of a superconducting gap in boron-doped diamond by laser-excited photoemission spectroscopy

We investigate the temperature (T)-dependent low-energy electronic structure of a boron-doped diamond thin film using ultrahigh resolution laser-excited photoemission spectroscopy. We observe a clear shift of the leading edge below T=11 K, indicative of a superconducting gap opening (Delta approximately 0.78 meV at T=4.5 K). The gap feature is significantly broad and a well-defined quasiparticle peak is lacking even at the lowest temperature of measurement (=4.5 K). We discuss our results in terms of disorder effects on the normal state transport and superconductivity in this system.     

Conducting boron-doped single-crystal diamond films for high pressure research

Epitaxial boron-doped diamond films were grown by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition for application as heating elements in high pressure diamond anvil cell devices. To a mixture of hydrogen, methane and oxygen, diborane concentrations of 240–1200 parts per million were added to prepare five diamond thin-film samples. Surface morphology has been observed to change depending on the amount of diborane added to the feed gas mixture. Single-crystal diamond film with a lowest room temperature resistivity of 18 mΩ cm was fabricated and temperature variation of resistivity was studied to a low temperature of 12 K. The observed minima in resistivity values with temperature for these samples have been attributed to a change in conduction mechanism from band conduction to hopping conduction. We also present a novel fabrication methodology for monocrystalline electrically conducting channels in diamond and present preliminary heating data with a boron-doped designer diamond anvil to 620 K at ambient pressure.     

氟化类金刚石薄膜的拉曼和红外光谱结构研究

关键词：     

VHF-PECVD低温制备微晶硅薄膜的拉曼散射光谱和光发射谱研究

采用拉曼散射光谱和PR650光谱光度计对VHF-PECVD制备的微晶硅薄膜进行了结构表征和在线监测研究.结果表明：功率对材料的晶化率（χc）有一定的调节作用，硅烷浓度大，微调作用更明显；SiH*的强度只能在一定的范围内表征材料的沉积速率，功率大相应的速率反而下降；I［Hα*］/I［SiH*］强度比值反映了材料晶化程度，此结果和拉曼散射光谱测试结果显示出一致性；I［Hβ*］/I［Hα*］的强度比表明氢等离子体中的电子温度随功率的增大而逐渐降低. 关键词： 甚高频等离子体增强化学气相沉积 微晶硅 拉曼散射谱 光发射谱     

Isothermal desorption of hydrogen from polycrystalline diamond films

The kinetics of isothermal H₂ desorption from polycrystalline diamond are studied in real time. The surface H coverage (θ_H) is measured by mass analyzing the recoiled H₊ ion signal during the desorption. We find that the H₂ desorption is 1st order in θ_H with an activation energy of 69 ± 6 kcal/mol and a prefactor of 10^{10.5 ± 0.9} s⁻¹. We suggest that formation of a C---C π-bond on the clean surface plays a key role in H₂ desorption from diamond, a view consistent with previous theoretical calculations of H₂ desorption from diamond.     

Investigation of structural phase transition in polycrystalline SrTiO3 thin films by Raman spectroscopy

Polycrystalline SrTiO₃ thin films were prepared by pulsed laser deposition technique. The phonon properties and structural phase transition were studied by Raman spectroscopy. The first-order Raman scattering, which is forbidden in SrTiO₃ single crystal, has been observed in the films, due to the structural distortion caused by strain effect and oxygen vacancies. The Fano-type line shape of TO₂ phonon reveals the existence of polar microregions in the STO thin films. The evolution of TO₂ and TO₃ phonons with temperature shows the occurrence of a structural phase transition at 120 K related to the formation of polar macroregions in the films.     

Structural study of thin films prepared from tungstate glass matrix by Raman and X-ray absorption spectroscopy

Thin films were prepared using glass precursors obtained in the ternary system NaPO₃BaF₂WO₃ and the binary system NaPO₃WO₃ with high concentrations of WO₃ (above 40% molar). Vitreous samples have been used as a target to prepare thin films. Such films were deposited using the electron beam evaporation method onto soda-lime glass substrates. Several structural characterizations were performed by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray Absorption Near Edge Spectroscopy (XANES) at the tungsten L_I and L_III absorption edges. XANES investigations showed that tungsten atoms are only sixfold coordinated (octahedral WO₆) and that these films are free of tungstate tetrahedral units (WO₄). In addition, Raman spectroscopy allowed identifying a break in the linear phosphate chains as the amount of WO₃ increases and the formation of POW bonds in the films network indicating the intermediary behavior of WO₆ octahedra in the film network. Based on XANES data, we suggested a new attribution of several Raman absorption bands which allowed identifying the presence of WO⁻ and WO terminal bonds and a progressive apparition of WOW bridging bonds for the most WO₃ concentrated samples (above 40% molar) attributed to the formation of WO₆ clusters.     

Photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopy of single diamond nanoparticle

The article reports techniques that we have devised for immobilizing and allocating a single nanodiamond on the electron beam (E-beam) lithography patterned semiconductor substrate. By combining the E-beam patterned smart substrate with the high throughput of a confocal microscope, we are able to overcome the limitation of the spatial resolution of optical techniques (~1 μm) to obtain the data on individual nano-object with a size range between 100 and 35 nm. We have observed a broad photoluminescence centered at about 700 nm from a single nanodiamond which is due to the defects, vacancies in the nanodiamonds, and the disordered carbon layer covered on the nanodiamond surface. We also observe red-shift in energy and broadening in linewidth of the sp³ bonding Raman peak when the size of the single nanodiamond is reduced due to the phonon-confinement effects.     

Ohmic and Schottky contacts of hydrogenated and oxygenated boron-doped single-crystal diamond with hill-like polycrystalline grains

Hill-like polycrystalline diamond grains(HPDGs) randomly emerged on a heavy boron-doped p~+ single-crystal diamond(SCD) film by prolonging the growth duration of the chemical vapor deposition process.The Raman spectral results confirm that a relatively higher boron concentration(～1.1 × 10~(21) cm~(-3)) is detected on the HPDG with respect to the SCD region(～5.4 × 10~(20) cm~(-3)).It demonstrates that the Au/SCD interface can be modulated from ohmic to Schottky contact by varying the surface from hydrogen to oxygen termination.The current-voltage curve between two HPDGs is nearly linear with either oxygen or hydrogen termination,which means that the HPDGs provide a leakage path to form an ohmic contact.There are obvious rectification characteristics between oxygen-terminated HPDGs and SCD based on the difference in boron doping levels in those regions.The results reveal that the highly boron-doped HPDGs grown in SCD can be adopted as ohmic electrodes for Hall measurement and electronic devices.     

Use of ultrafine-dispersed nanodiamond for selective deposition of boron-doped diamond films

A suspension of ultrafine-dispersed nanodiamond was used for introducing (in particular, selectively) high-density centers of diamond nucleation on various substrates. High-quality doped diamond films to be used as electrochemistry electrodes were deposited from the gas phase in a microwave discharge on certain substrates treated using ultrafine-dispersed nanodiamond. A uniform distribution of nucleation centers with concentrations greater than 10¹⁰ cm^-2 on silicon substrates was obtained. Electrochemical current-potential curves were measured for continuous films. Diamond meshes of different transparency were grown using selective nucleation. Successful production of high-quality doped diamond meshes gives grounds to consider them the most promising electrodes for use in electrochemistry.     

Optical and structural properties of polycrystalline CVD diamond films grown on fused silica optical fibres pre-treated by high-power sonication seeding

In this paper, the growth of polycrystalline chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond thin films on fused silica optical fibres has been investigated. The research results show that the effective substrate seeding process can lower defect nucleation, and it simultaneously increases surface encapsulation. However, the growth process on glass requires high seeding density. The effects of suspension type and ultrasonic power were the specific objects of investigation. In order to increase the diamond density, glass substrates were seeded using a high-power sonication process. The highest applied power of sonotrode reached 72 W during the performed experiments. The two, most common diamond seeding suspensions were used, i.e. detonation nanodiamond dispersed in (a) dimethyl sulfoxide and (b) deionised water. The CVD diamond nucleation and growth processes were performed using microwave plasma assisted chemical vapour deposition system. Next, the seeding efficiency was determined and compared using the numerical analysis of scanning electron microscopy images. The molecular composition of nucleated diamond was examined with micro-Raman spectroscopy. The sp³/sp² band ratio was calculated using Raman spectra deconvolution method. Thickness, roughness, and optical properties of the nanodiamond films in UV–vis wavelength range were investigated by means of spectroscopic ellipsometry. It has been demonstrated that the high-power sonication process can improve the seeding efficiency on glass substrates. However, it can also cause significant erosion defects at the fibre surface. We believe that the proposed growth method can be effectively applied to manufacture the novel optical fibre sensors. Due to high chemical and mechanical resistance of CVD diamond films, deposition of such films on the sensors is highly desirable. This method enables omitting the deposition of an additional adhesion interlayer at the glass–nanocrystalline interface, and thus potentially increases transmittance of the optical system.     

Anomalous nonlinearity of IR photoconductivity of diamond polycrystalline films

Nonlinearity of the lux-ampere characteristics of undoped polycrystalline diamond films is revealed. The spectral dependences of this nonlinearity and photoconductivity are analyzed in the framework of the available models with a single impurity level or a single type of traps. It is shown that, for undoped polycrystalline diamond films in the range of impurity photoconductivity, the lux-ampere characteristics exhibit an anomalous nonlinearity when their slopes change from 1/2 to approximately unity with a decrease in the wavelength and an increase in the excitation level and the carrier lifetime. The results obtained are explained within the model of the coexistence of two different channels of conduction in diamond films. Two ranges of carrier photogeneration are established. For photon energies below 1.4 eV, the carrier generation with quadratic recombination is observed in a single channel. At higher photon energies, the carrier generation occurs in two channels simultaneously (in addition, the carriers are excited with linear recombination in the second channel). It is demonstrated that the equilibrium concentration of carriers in the second channel with linear recombination substantially exceeds the equilibrium concentration of carriers in the first channel with quadratic recombination, which hampers the detection of the first channel without photoexcitation.