Critical boron-doping levels for generation of dislocations in synthetic diamond

M.-P. Alegre (1) , D. Araujo (1) , Alexandre Fiori (2) , J.-C. Pinero (1) , F Lloret (1) , M.P. Villar (1) , Philipp Achatz (2) , Gauthier Chicot (2) , Etienne Bustarret (2) , F Jomard (3)

1 Dpto Ciencia de los Materiales
2 NEEL - SC2G - Semi-conducteurs à large bande interdite
3 GEMAC - Groupe d'Etude de la Matière Condensée

Defects induced by boron doping in diamond layers were studied by transmission electron microscopy. The existence of a critical boron doping level above which defects are generated is reported. This level is found to be dependent on the CH 4 /H 2 molar ratios and on growth directions. The critical boron concentration lied in the 6.5–17.0 10 20 at/cm 3 range in the <111> direction and at 3.2 10 21 at/cm 3 for the <001> one. Strain related effects induced by the doping are shown not to be responsible. From the location of dislocations and their Burger vectors, a model is proposed, together with their generation mechanism.

Mots clés: dislocations; electron mictroscopy; boron doping; diamond

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

M.-P. Alegre, D. Araujo, Alexandre Fiori, J.-C. Pinero, F Lloret, et al.. Critical boron-doping levels for generation of dislocations in synthetic diamond. Applied Physics Letters, 2014, 105 (17), pp.173103. ⟨10.1063/1.4900741⟩. ⟨hal-01079903⟩