Ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films with up to 0.2% total nitrogen content were synthesized by a microwave plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor-deposition method using a CH4(1%)/Ar gas mixture and 1%–20% nitrogen gas added. The electrical conductivity of the nitrogen-doped UNCD films increases by five orders of magnitude (up to 143 Ω−1 cm−1) with increasing nitrogen content. Conductivity and Hall measurements made as a function of film temperature down to 4.2 K indicate that these films have the highest n-type conductivity and carrier concentration demonstrated for phase-pure diamond thin films. Grain-boundary conduction is proposed to explain the remarkable transport properties of these films.

The fabrication of nanotube field emitters with an onset field as low as 0.8 V/μm is described and the low-field electron emission mechanism is discussed. These emitters are made using nanotube cathode deposit with the addition of epoxy resin. The preferred orientation of nanotubes in nanotube bundles of the deposit is preserved. The nanotube tips are sharpened by exposing the nanotube bundle surface to a microwave oxygen plasma. The local-field enhancement factor is estimated to be 8000 by using the Fowler–Nordheim equation. The low onset field is attributed to the well-distributed, highly orientated sharp tips at the sample surface.

The submitted manuscript ha_ beeh I authored by a contractor of the U. S.I Governmentunder contract No. W.31-I 109-ENG-38. Accordingly, the U. S.] Government retains a nonexclusive,] royalty-free license to publish or I reproducethe published form of thisl contribution,or allowothers to doso, for[ U. S. Governmentpurposes. I DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.

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Precise control of composition and microstructure is critical for the production of (BaxSr1−x)Ti1+yO3+z (BST) dielectric thin films with the large dependence of permittivity on electric field, low losses, and high electrical breakdown fields that are required for successful integration of BST into tunable high-frequency devices. Here, we present results on composition-microstructure-electrical property relationships for polycrystalline BST films produced by magnetron-sputter deposition, that are appropriate for microwave and millimeter-wave applications such as varactors and frequency triplers. Films with controlled compositions were grown from a stoichiometric Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 target by control of the background processing gas pressure. It was determined that the (Ba+Sr)/Ti ratios of these BST films could be adjusted from 0.73 to 0.98 by changing the total (Ar+O2) process pressure, while the O2/Ar ratio did not strongly affect the metal ion composition. Film crystalline structure and dielectric properties as a function of the (Ba+Sr)/Ti ratio are discussed. Optimized BST films yielded capacitors with low dielectric losses (0.0047), among the best reported for sputtered BST, while still maintaining tunabilities suitable for device applications.

The transition from microcrystalline to nanocrystalline diamond films grown from Ar/H 2 /CH 4 microwave plasmas has been investigated. Both the cross-section and plan-view micrographs of scanning electron microscopy reveal that the surface morphology, the grain size, and the growth mechanism of the diamond films depend strongly on the ratio of Ar to H 2 in the reactant gases. Microcrystalline grain size and columnar growth have been observed from films produced from Ar/H 2 /CH 4 microwave discharges with low concentrations of Ar in the reactant gases. By contrast, the films grown from Ar/H 2 /CH 4 microwave plasmas with a high concentration of Ar in the reactant gases consist of phase pure nanocrystalline diamond, which has been characterized by transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction, and electron energy loss spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy reveal that the width of the diffraction peaks and the Raman bands of the as-grown films depends on the ratio of Ar to H 2 in the plasmas and are attributed to the transition from micron to nanometer size crystallites. It has been demonstrated that the microstructure of diamond films deposited from Ar/H 2 /CH 4 plasmas can be controlled by varying the ratio of Ar to H 2 in the reactant gas. The transition becomes pronounced at an Ar/H 2 volume ratio of 4, and the microcrystalline diamond films are totally transformed to nanocrystalline diamond at an Ar/H 2 volume ratio of 9. The transition in microstructure is presumably due to a change in growth mechanism from CH 3 • in high hydrogen content to C 2 as a growth species in low hydrogen content plasmas.

Ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) films, grown using microwave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition with gas mixtures of Ar–1%CH4 or Ar–1%CH4–5%H2, have been examined with transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The films consist of equiaxed nanograins (2–10 nm in diameter) and elongated twinned dendritic grains. The area occupied by dendritic grains increases with the addition of H2. High resolution electron microscopy shows no evidence of an amorphous phase at grain boundaries, which are typically one or two atomic layer thick (0.2–0.4 nm). Cross-section TEM reveals a noncolumnar structure of the films. The initial nucleation of diamond occurs directly on the Si substrate when H2 is present in the plasma. For the case of UNCD growth from a plasma without addition of H2, the initial nucleation occurs on an amorphous carbon layer about 10–15 nm thick directly grown on the Si substrate. This result indicates that hydrogen plays a critical role in determining the nucleation interface between the UNCD films and the Si substrate. The relation between diamond nuclei and Si is primarily random and occasionally epitaxial.

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