Growth and oxidation of boron-doped diamond films

Abstract

Boron-doped diamond films have been grown by the hot filament chemical vapor deposition process. The feed gas was a mixture of argon, bubbled through a solution of B2O3 in ethanol, and hydrogen. The highest growth rate was 0.7 μm/h. The boron concentration in the films depended on the concentration of B2O3 in the ethanol. The highest boron doping level, as measured by secondary ion mass spectroscopy, was 6300 atomic ppm. Raman spectroscopy and x-ray diffraction both confirmed the presence of crystalline diamond in the films. The frequency of the diamond Raman line decreased with increasing boron concentration. This shift may arise from an interaction of the charged carriers (holes) produced by the boron doping and the Raman-active optic phonon. The oxidation rates of doped and undoped films were measured by thermogravimetric analysis at 700 °C in flowing high purity oxygen. Films with a boron concentration of 6300 ppm oxidized at one-tenth the rate of undoped diamond. A layer of B2O3, detected on the surface of an oxidized B-doped film, is believed to act as a protective barrier that decreases the oxidation rate.