LOSS OF ELECTRICAL-CONDUCTIVITY IN BORON-DOPED DIAMOND DUE TO ION-INDUCED DAMAGE

The response of B-ion-implanted type-IIa diamond to light ion (H, He) irradiation is investigated by monitoring the sample resistance as a f unction of dose. It is found that the resistivity of the layer increas es rapidly with increasing dose, and reaches the resistivity of the un doped diamond for irradiation doses much less than those required for the onset of damage related electrical conductivity in pristine diamon d. It is shown that defects created by the nuclear stopping process ac t as compensating centers for the B accepters. The present findings ar e of importance for the design of radiation hard diamond based electro nic devices and suggests a method for the isolation of B-doped devices on a diamond chip. The results of the present work also explain why t he collection distance in intrinsic nondoped diamond radiation detecto rs actually increases with increasing ion dose. (C) 1997 American Inst itute of Physics.