Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is a metastable form of amorphous carbon with significant sp3 bonding. DLC is a semiconductor with a high mechanical hardness, chemical inertness, and optical transparency. This review will describe the deposition methods, deposition mechanisms, characterisation methods, electronic structure, gap states, defects, doping, luminescence, field emission, mechanical properties and some applications of DLCs. The films have widespread applications as protective coatings in areas, such as magnetic storage disks, optical windows and micro-electromechanical devices (MEMs).

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Diamond-like amorphous carbon

Raman spectroscopy is a standard characterization technique for any carbon system. Here we review the Raman spectra of amorphous, nanostructured, diamond-like carbon and nanodiamond. We show how to use resonant Raman spectroscopy to determine structure and composition of carbon films with and without nitrogen. The measured spectra change with varying excitation energy. By visible and ultraviolet excitation measurements, the G peak dispersion can be derived and correlated with key parameters, such as density, sp(3) content, elastic constants and chemical composition. We then discuss the assignment of the peaks at 1150 and 1480 cm(-1) often observed in nanodiamond. We review the resonant Raman, isotope substitution and annealing experiments, which lead to the assignment of these peaks to trans-polyacetylene.

Raman spectroscopy of amorphous, nanostructured, diamond-like carbon, and nanodiamond

Recently, a lot of effort has been focused on improving the performance and exploring the electric properties of graphene. This article presents a summary of chemical doping of graphene aimed at tuning the electronic properties of graphene. p-Type and n-type doping of graphene achieved through surface transfer doping or substitutional doping and their applications based on doping are reviewed. Chemical doping for band gap tuning in graphene is also presented. It will be beneficial to designing high performance electronic devices based on chemically doped graphene.

Chemical doping of graphene

Crystal defects in diamond have emerged as unique objects for a variety of applications, both because they are very stable and because they have interesting optical properties. Embedded in nanocrystals, they can serve, for example, as robust single-photon sources or as fluorescent biomarkers of unlimited photostability and low cytotoxicity. The most fascinating aspect, however, is the ability of some crystal defects, most prominently the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center, to locally detect and measure a number of physical quantities, such as magnetic and electric fields. This metrology capacity is based on the quantum mechanical interactions of the defect's spin state. In this review, we introduce the new and rapidly evolving field of nanoscale sensing based on single NV centers in diamond. We give a concise overview of the basic properties of diamond, from synthesis to electronic and magnetic properties of embedded NV centers. We describe in detail how single NV centers can be harnessed for nanoscale sensing,...

Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers in Diamond: Nanoscale Sensors for Physics and Biology

Industries such as the automotive, aerospace or military, as well as environmental and biological research have promoted the development of ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors capable of operating at high temperatures and in hostile environments. UV-enhanced Si photodiodes are hence giving way to a new generation of UV detectors fabricated from wide-bandgap semiconductors, such as SiC, diamond, III-nitrides, ZnS, ZnO, or ZnSe. This paper provides a general review of latest progresses in wide-bandgap semiconductor photodetectors.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0268-1242/18/4/201/pdf

Wide-bandgap semiconductor ultraviolet photodetectors

Hydrogen-terminated diamond exhibits a high surface conductivity (SC) that is commonly attributed to the direct action of hydrogen-related acceptors. We give experimental evidence that hydrogen is only a necessary requirement for SC; exposure to air is also essential. We propose a mechanism in which a redox reaction in an adsorbed water layer provides the electron sink for the subsurface hole accumulation layer. The model explains the experimental findings including the fact that hydrogenated diamond is unique among all semiconductors in this respect.

Origin of Surface Conductivity in Diamond

The electron affinity $\ensuremath{\chi}$ and the band diagram of single crystal diamond (111) surfaces was determined as a function of hydrogen coverage by combining work function measurements with photoelectron yield and core level photoemission spectroscopy. $\ensuremath{\chi}$ ranges from $\ensuremath{-}1.27\mathrm{eV}$ for the fully hydrogen covered $(1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1)$ surface to $+0.38\mathrm{eV}$ for the hydrogen free $(2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1)$ reconstructed surface. This change is quantitatively explained by a surface dipole model provided a coverage dependent depolarization is included. The dipole moment of the C-H bond on diamond (111) is found to be $0.09e\AA{}$.

Electron Affinity of the Bare and Hydrogen Covered Single Crystal Diamond (111) Surface

The electron affinity (EA) $\ensuremath{\chi}$ of single crystal diamond (100) is determined as a function of hydrogen and oxygen coverage by a combination of work function and photoemission experiments. For the fully hydrogenated (100)-$(2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1):\mathrm{H}$ surface an EA of $\ensuremath{-}1.3 \mathrm{eV}$ and for the oxidized surface C(100)-$(1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1):\mathrm{O}$ $\ensuremath{\chi}=+1.7 \mathrm{eV}$ are obtained. These are the lowest and the highest electron affinities, respectively, ever reported for any diamond surface. The variation in $\ensuremath{\chi}$ with O and H coverage is well described by a simple dipole model provided that the depolarization is properly taken into account for high adsorbate densities. This analysis favors the bridge position (etherlike) for oxygen on C(100). By mixing H and O adsorbates on a microscopic scale the EA of C(100) can be adjusted at will over 3 eV between the extreme values without jeopardizing the chemical passivation of the diamond surface afforded by H or O termination.

Electron affinity of plasma-hydrogenated and chemically oxidized diamond (100) surfaces

A comparative analysis of quantitative infrared absorption spectra and mass selected thermal effusion transients measured for a large number of hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) films is presented in order to establish reliable IR absorption cross sections for the different hydrogen bonding configurations in the material. The structural character of the material and the hydrogen concentration were varied over a wide range from soft and wide band gap polymerlike a-C:H, via so-called diamondlike carbon, to the tetrahedral form of a-C:H deposited from a plasma beam source. The results show that the IR absorption cross sections from molecular hydrocarbons can well be transferred to the solid state as long as the material is of polymeric character, but that this procedure fails as soon as the material converts into a three-dimensional cross-linked and mechanically hard structure. For the latter material an empirical average IR absorption cross section for the C–H stretch band can nevertheless be determined from a comparison between hydrogen effusion and IR spectra.

A comparative analysis of a-C:H by infrared spectroscopy and mass selected thermal effusion

The electronic properties of many materials can be controlled by introducing appropriate impurities into the bulk crystal lattice in a process known as doping. In this way, diamond (a well-known insulator) can be transformed into a semiconductor1, and recent progress in thin-film diamond synthesis has sparked interest in the potential applications of semiconducting diamond2,3. However, the high dopant activation energies (in excess of 0.36 eV) and the limitation of donor incorporation to (111) growth facets only have hampered the development of diamond-based devices. Here we report a doping mechanism for diamond, using a method that does not require the introduction of foreign atoms into the diamond lattice. Instead, C60 molecules are evaporated onto the hydrogen-terminated diamond surface, where they induce a subsurface hole accumulation and a significant rise in two-dimensional conductivity. Our observations bear a resemblance to the so-called surface conductivity of diamond4,5,6,7,8 seen when hydrogenated diamond surfaces are exposed to air, and support an electrochemical model in which the reduction of hydrated protons in an aqueous surface layer gives rise to a hole accumulation layer6,7. We expect that transfer doping by C60 will open a broad vista of possible semiconductor applications for diamond.

Jürgen Ristein

Papers

Origin of Surface Conductivity in Diamond

Electron Affinity of the Bare and Hydrogen Covered Single Crystal Diamond (111) Surface

Electron affinity of plasma-hydrogenated and chemically oxidized diamond (100) surfaces

A comparative analysis of a-C:H by infrared spectroscopy and mass selected thermal effusion

Surface transfer doping of diamond