Characterization of boron doped nanocrystalline diamonds

Carlos Peterlevitz, Alfredo; Manne, Gustavo Mograo; Sampaio, Marcio Augusto; Quispe, Jose Ciro Rojas; Pasquetto, Mariana Pinheiro; Iannini, Roberto Fonseca; Ceragioli, Helder Jose; Baranauskas, Vitor Brazil

Research on preparing nanostructured materials has been of high scientific and technological interest because they may have new or improved properties compared to those of the bulk. The purpose of this work is to investigate downsize of doping diamond grains to nanoscale in order to create a network of defective grain boundaries to facilitate the atomic boron doping. The nano-sized diamond structures were synthesized by hot-filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) on polished Si substrates using ethanol as the carbon source, diluted in hydrogen (14.5 % vol.) and argon (85 % vol.) and B2O3 as source of p-dopant atoms. Different B/C concentration ratios in the doping feed-stock were used. A total flow rate of around 85 sccm, regulated by precision mass flow, and a total pressure of about 20 Torr were maintained throughout. The deposition temperature was 740 K. The electronic properties for these nanostructured diamond samples will be discussed along with the measurement of the Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) current versus bias voltage (I-V), electrical resistivity, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and results from Raman spectroscopic analyses of samples produced with different boron concentrations.

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