Nitrogenation of diamond by glow discharge plasma treatment

The effect of nitrogen incorporation on the electrical properties of diamon d is currently under intense study. In this work, diamond grown by hot fila ment chemical vapor deposition was exposed to a radiofrequency (40 MHz glow discharge of pure nitrogen for times of between 5 min and 1 h. The effect of this exposure on the chemical and elemental composition of the samples w as assessed by Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Changes in the e lectrical resistance with increasing film nitrogenation and temperature wer e measured. The scope and limitations of this approach to nitrogenation are evaluated. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.