Resistivity of chemical vapor deposited diamond films

Diamond films grown by plasma chemical vapor deposition techniques display a fairly low resistivity (∼10⁶ Ω cm). Heat treating the films causes an increase in the resistivity by up to six orders of magnitude. The low resistivity of the as-grown films is postulated to be due to hydrogen passivation of traps in the films. Annealing causes dehydrogenation resulting in the electrical activation of deep traps with an attendant increase in the resistivity. This mechanism has been confirmed by an observed reduction of the resistivity of the heat-treated films when they are subjected to a plasma hydrogen treatment.