Heavily boron doped diamond epilayers with thicknesses ranging from 40 to less than 2 nm and buried between nominally undoped thicker layers have been grown in two different reactors. Two types of [100]-oriented single crystal diamond substrates were used after being characterized by X-ray white beam topography. The chemical composition and thickness of these so-called delta-doped structures have been studied by secondary ion mass spectrometry, transmission electron microscopy, and spectroscopic ellipsometry. Temperature-dependent Hall effect and four probe resistivity measurements have been performed on mesa-patterned Hall bars. The temperature dependence of the hole sheet carrier density and mobility has been investigated over a broad temperature range (6 K < T < 450 K). Depending on the sample, metallic or non-metallic behavior was observed. A hopping conduction mechanism with an anomalous hopping exponent was detected in the non-metallic samples. All metallic delta-doped layers exhibited the same mobility value, around 3.6 ± 0.8 cm2/Vs, independently of the layer thickness and the substrate type. Comparison with previously published data and theoretical calculations showed that scattering by ionized impurities explained only partially this low common value. None of the delta-layers showed any sign of confinement-induced mobility enhancement, even for thicknesses lower than 2 nm

International audienceThe temperature dependence of the hole sheet density and mobility of four capped delta boron doped [100]-oriented epilayers has been investigated experimentally and theoretically over a large temperature range (6K < T < 500 K). The influence of the parallel conduction through the thick buffer layer overgrown on the diamond substrate was shown not to be negligible near room temperature. This could lead to erroneous estimates of the hole mobility in the delta layer. None of the delta-layers studied showed any quantum confinement enhancement of the mobility, even the one which was thinner than 2 nm