PECVD (Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) diamond thin films for research instrumentation
Abstract
Natural diamond exhibits several properties that indicate its utility as a semiconducting material. It is environmentally robust and an excellent thermal conductor, characteristics which would allow it to operate under temperature and radiation conditions that would render useless more commonly used semiconductors such as silicon and GaAs. In addition, it has optical properties that suggest its use as a short wavelength turnable laser. Several materials issues have prevented the development of diamond as a semi-conductor in device, laser and related applications. Natural diamond is expensive to obtain in useful sizes. The impurity and defect levels can vary dramatically from one sample to the next, making potential product reproducibility difficult to achieve. It is unavailable in thin film form. High pressure synthetic diamond is also unsuitable for the foregoing applications because of impurities and inability to produce thin films.
- Publication:
-
Final Report
- Pub Date:
- 1988
- Bibcode:
- 1988crys.rept.....P
- Keywords:
-
- Diamond Films;
- Diamonds;
- Lasers;
- Optical Properties;
- Plasmas (Physics);
- Semiconductors (Materials);
- Thin Films;
- Vapor Deposition;
- Chemical Reactions;
- Earth Resources;
- High Pressure;
- Impurities;
- Short Wave Radiation;
- Silicon;
- Solid-State Physics