DAMAGE THRESHOLD FOR ION-BEAM-INDUCED GRAPHITIZATION OF DIAMOND

The critical dose for graphitization of diamond as a result of ion imp lantation induced damage (boron and arsenic) and subsequent thermal an nealing is determined by combining secondary ion mass spectroscopy mea surements, chemical etching of the graphitized layer, and TRIM simulat ions. Li ions are implanted as a deep marker to accurately determine t he position of the graphite/diamond interface. The damage density thre shold, beyond which graphitization occurs upon annealing, is found to be 10(22) vacancies/cm(3). This value is checked against published dat a and is shown to be of general nature, independent of ion species or implantation energy. (C) 1995 American Institute of Physics.