Saman Majdi

Generation, transport and detection of valley-polarized electrons in diamond

Standard electronic devices encode bits of information by controlling the amount of electric charge in the circuits. Alternatively, it is possible to make devices that rely on other properties of electrons than their charge. For example, spintronic devices make use of the electron spin angular momentum as a carrier of information. A new concept is valleytronics in which information is encoded by the valley quantum number of the electron. The analogy between the valley and spin degrees of freedom also implies the possibility of valley-based quantum computing. In this Article, we demonstrate for the first time generation, transport (across macroscopic distances) and detection of valley-polarized electrons in bulk diamond with a relaxation time of 300 ns at 77 K. We anticipate that these results will form the basis for the development of integrated valleytronic devices.

Transport behavior of holes in boron delta-doped diamond structures

Boron delta-doped diamond structures have been synthesized using microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition and fabricated into FET and gated Hall bar devices for assessment of the electrical characteristics. A detailed study of variable temperature Hall, conductivity, and field-effect mobility measurements was completed. This was supported by Schrodinger-Poisson and relaxation time calculations based upon application of Fermis golden rule. A two carrier-type model was developed with an activation energy of ∼0.2 eV between the delta layer lowest subband with mobility ∼1 cm2/Vs and the bulk valence band with high mobility. This new understanding of the transport of holes in such boron delta-doped structures has shown that although Hall mobility as high as 900 cm2/Vs was measured at room temperature, this dramatically overstates the actual useful performance of the device.

Electron and hole drift velocity in chemical vapor deposition diamond

The time-of-flight technique has been used to measure the drift velocities for electrons and holes in high-purity single-crystalline CVD diamond. Measurements were made in the temperature interval ...

Negative electron mobility in diamond

By measuring the drift velocity of electrons in diamond as a function of applied electric field, we demonstrate that ultra-pure diamond exhibits negative differential electron mobility in the [100] direction below 140 K. Negative electron mobility is normally associated with III–V or II–VI semiconductors with an energy difference between different conduction band valleys. The observation of negative mobility in diamond, an elemental group IV semiconductor, is explained in terms of repopulation effects between different equivalent conduction band valleys using a model based on the Boltzmann equation.

Inversion in Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor Capacitors on Boron-Doped Diamond

For the advancement of diamond-based electronic devices, the fabrication of metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) is crucial, as this device finds applications in numerous fields of power electronics and high-frequency systems. The MOS capacitor forms the basic building block of the MOSFET. In this letter, we describe planar MOS capacitor structures fabricated with atomic layer deposited aluminum oxide as the dielectric on oxygen-terminated boron-doped diamond substrates with different doping levels. Using capacitance-voltage measurements, we have, for the first time, observed inversion behavior in MOS structures on boron-doped diamond, with a doping concentration of 4.1 × 1019/cm3.

Single crystal diamond for infrared sensing applications

The synthesis of new materials for thermal infrared (IR) detection has been an intensive research area in recent years. Among new semiconductor materials, synthetic diamond has the ability to function even under very high temperature and high radiation conditions. In the present work, diamond Schottky diodes with boron concentrations in the range of 1014 < B < 1017 cm−3 are presented as candidates for IR thermal sensors with an excellent temperature coefficient of resistance (−8.42%/K) and very low noise levels around 6.6 × 10−15 V2/Hz. This enables huge performance enhancements for a wide variety of systems, e.g., automotive and space applications.

Hole transport in single crystal synthetic diamond at low temperatures

Investigating the effects of local scattering mechanisms is of great importance to understand charge transport in semiconductors. This article reports measurements of the hole transport properties of boron-doped (100) single-crystalline chemical vapor deposited diamond. A Time-of-Flight measurement using a 213 nm, pulsed UV laser for excitation, was performed on high-purity single-crystalline diamonds to measure the hole drift velocity in the low-injection regime. The measurements were carried out in the temperature range 10-80 K. The results obtained are directly applicable to low-temperature detector applications. By comparing our data to Monte-Carlo simulations, a detailed understanding of the dominating hole scattering mechanisms is obtained.

Silicon Oxide Passivation of Single-Crystalline CVD Diamond Evaluated by the Time-of-Flight Technique

Diamond is a promising semiconductor material for high power, high voltage, high temperature and high frequency applications due to its remarkable material properties: it has the highest thermal conductivity, it is the hardest material, chemically inert, radiation hard and has the widest transparency in the electromagnetic spectrum. It also exhibits excellent electrical properties like high breakdown field, high mobilities and a wide bandgap. Hence, it may find applications in extreme conditions out of reach for conventional semiconductor materials, e.g. in high power density systems, high temperature conditions, automotive and aerospace industries, and space applications. With the recent progress in the growth of high purity single-crystalline CVD diamond, the realization of electronic devices is now possible. Natural and HPHT diamonds inevitably have too high a concentration of impurities and defects for electrical applications. To develop efficient electronic devices based on diamond, it is crucial to understand charge transport properties. Time-of-flight is one of the most powerful methods used to study charge transport properties like mobility, drift velocity and charge collection efficiency in highly resistive semiconductors, such as diamond. For commercial diamond devices to become a reality, it is necessary to have an effective surface passivation since the passivation determines the ability of a device to withstand high surface electric fields. Surface passivation studies on intrinsic SC-CVD diamond using materials like silicon oxide, silicon nitride and high-k materials have been conducted and observations reveal an increase in measured hole mobilities. Planar MOS capacitor structures form the basic building block of MOSFETs. Consequently, the understanding of MOS structures is crucial to make MOSFETs based on diamond. Planar MOS structures with aluminum oxide as gate dielectric were fabricated on boron doped diamond. The phenomenon of inversion was observed for the first time in diamond. In addition, low temperature hole transport in the range of 10-80 K has been investigated and the results are used to identify the type of scattering mechanisms affecting hole transport at these temperatures.To utilize the potential of diamonds properties and with diamond being the hardest and most chemically inert material, new processing technologies are needed to produce devices for electrical, optical or mechanical applications. Etching of diamond is one of the important processing steps required to make devices. Achieving an isotropic etch with a high etch rate is a challenge. Semi-isotropic etch profiles with smooth surfaces were obtained by using anisotropic etching technique by placing diamond samples in a Faraday cage and etch rates of approximately 80 nm/min were achieved.Valleytronics, which is a novel concept to encode information based on the valley quantum number of electrons has been investigated for the first time in diamond. Valley-polarized electrons with the longest relaxation time ever recorded in any material (300 ns) were observed. This is a first step towards demonstrating valleytronic devices.

Stability of polarized states for diamond valleytronics

The stability of valley polarized electron states is crucial for the development of valleytronics. A long relaxation time of the valley polarization is required to enable operations to be performed on the polarized states. Here, we investigate the stability of valley polarized states in diamond, expressed as relaxation time. We have found that the stability of the states can be extremely long when we consider the electron-phonon scattering processes allowed by symmetry considerations. We determine electron-phonon coupling constants by Time-of-Flight measurements and Monte Carlo simulations and use these data to map out the relaxation time temperature dependency. The relaxation time for diamond can be microseconds or longer below 100 K and 100 V/cm due to the strong covalent bond, which is highly encouraging for future use in valleytronic applications.

A charge transport study in diamond, surface passivated by high-k dielectric oxides

The recent progress in the growth of high-quality single-crystalline diamond films has sparked interest in the realization of efficient diamond power electronic devices. However, finding a suitable passivation is essential to improve the reliability and electrical performance of devices. In the current work, high-k dielectric materials such as aluminum oxide and hafnium oxide were deposited by atomic layer deposition on intrinsic diamond as a surface passivation layer. The hole transport properties in the diamond films were evaluated and compared to unpassivated films using the lateral time-of-flight technique. An enhancement of the near surface hole mobility in diamond films of up to 27% is observed when using aluminum oxide passivation.