Sulfur regulation of boron doping and growth behavior for high-quality diamond in microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition

Abstract

In this work, sulfur addition has been employed on the boron-doped diamond growth process, and a significant regulation of the boron doping and the growth behavior has been realized by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition. It is interesting to find that the sulfur incorporation will lead to an accordant evolution on the boron doping efficiency, hole mobility and concentration, crystal quality, surface morphology, and growth rate. In the presence of sulfur with appropriate dosage, for a boron-to-carbon ratio of only 2.5 ppm in gas phase during growth, a very high doping concentration of 1.2 × 1019 at/cm3 has been achieved, indicative of a very efficient boron doping. Besides, the hole mobility of the sample is 853 cm2/V s at 300 K, which is better than the state of the art for p-type doping in diamond. The regulation mechanism of the sulfur addition will be discussed from the point of view of sulfur-induced plasma change and possible B–S complex formation. This study may provide an effective way for high-quality p-type conductive diamond layer growth and further for the potential diamond-based opto-electronic device applications.

Review on the Properties of Boron-Doped Diamond and One-Dimensional-Metal-Oxide Based P-N Heterojunction

“…In the most recent study [ 63 ], a small amount of sulfur was added during the deposition of BDD films by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD), as reported by Liu’s group. The results show the highest values of at once doping efficiency, growth rate, hole mobility and concentration, crystal mass and surface morphology of boron attained with the addition of sulfur ( Figure 5 ).…”

“…( d ) Atomic force microscopy (AFM) image (5 × 5 μm 2 ). ( e ) Root mean square (RMS) surface roughness (Rq) [ 63 ].…”

“…Moreover, two wide bands that appear at 500 cm −1 and 1200 cm −1 in the low-frequency spectrum portion are consistent with two maximum values of phonon density in the diamond state. In the most recent study [63], a small amount of sulfur was added during the deposition of BDD films by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD), as reported by Liu's group. The results show the highest values of at once doping efficiency, In the most recent study [63], a small amount of sulfur was added during the deposition of BDD films by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD), as reported by Liu's group.…”

“…In the most recent study [63], a small amount of sulfur was added during the deposition of BDD films by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD), as reported by Liu's group. The results show the highest values of at once doping efficiency, In the most recent study [63], a small amount of sulfur was added during the deposition of BDD films by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD), as reported by Liu's group. The results show the highest values of at once doping efficiency, growth rate, hole mobility and concentration, crystal mass and surface morphology of boron attained with the addition of sulfur (Figure 5).…”

Dislocation generation mechanisms in heavily boron-doped diamond epilayers

“…Some works on co-doping as a strategy for compensating the boron-induced strain in the diamond lattice have been reported. 8,9 In any case, it is essential to define clear rules that allow growing of CVD-doped diamond without dislocations, that is, with crystalline quality high enough to be used for electronic device manufacture.…”