B. Gan et al., Thickness dependence of density of gap states in diamond films studied using space-charge-limited current, J APPL PHYS, 89(10), 2001, pp. 5747-5753
Structural and electrical characteristics of chemical vapor deposited (CVD)
diamond films have been studied as a function of film thickness. The sampl
es comprise a set of codeposited, nominally undoped diamond films with aver
age grain size on the growth surface increasing linearly with the film thic
kness. Raman scattering analysis reveals a decrease of nondiamond phase and
intragrain defects with increasing film thickness. Temperature dependent d
c conductivity results indicate that, as the film thickness increases, the
Fermi level moves towards the valence band. There is a corresponding decrea
se in the density of states at the Fermi level, as deduced from the space-c
harge-limited current in the bulk of the samples. The spatial variation in
the density of states through the material closely reflects the changes obs
erved in the structural and electrical properties of the films. Such charac
teristic has the implication on the application of CVD diamond in the area
of electronics. (C) 2001 American Institute of Physics.