V. V. Chernov

Atomic composition and electrical characteristics of epitaxial CVD diamond layers doped with boron

The results of analysis of the atomic composition, doping level, and hole mobility in epitaxial diamond layers when doped with boron are reported. The layers are produced by chemical-vapor deposition. The possibilities of uniform doping with boron to a level in the range 5 × 1017 to ~1020 at cm–3 and of δ doping to the surface concentration (0.3–5) × 1013 at cm–3 are shown. The conditions for precision ion etching of the structures are determined, and barrier and ohmic contacts to the layers are formed.

Formation of singular (001) terraces on the surface of single-crystal HPHT diamond substrates

Methods of the experimental diagnostics and control of the misorientation angle for single-crystal HPHT (High Pressure High Temperature) diamond substrates are discussed. Such substrates are used for the homoepitaxial growth of doped and undoped CVD diamond layers. The formation of singular (001) terraces on the surface of HPHT diamond after microwave-discharge-plasma etching in pure hydrogen or a hydrogen–oxygen mixture is observed. This phenomenon can be used for rapid determination of the substrate misorientation and to improve the control precision of the deviation angle during substrate polishing, or for obtaining large singular (001) areas of single-crystal diamond substrates.

Erratum to: “Atomic composition and electrical characteristics of epitaxial CVD diamond layers doped with boron”

The name of the last author should read J. E. Batler.

Resonance laser spectroscopy of ion pairs in a Nd 3+ : LaF 3 crystal

This paper shows that the satellite lines that appear in the absorption and fluorescence spectra of neodymium ions in a LaF 3 crystal at concentrations of about 0.5 at.% and the accompanying lines of the isolated ion are caused by pairwise interaction of the Nd 3+ ions. Double optical resonance is used to study the structure of the satellite lines in the neighborhood of the 4 I 9/2 → 4 G 5/2 transition of the isolated ion (wavelength 5777.1 A), hidden by inhomogeneous broadening. When neodymium ion pairs are excited by resonance laser radiation, the presence of anti-Stokes components is recorded in the fluorescence spectrum (up-conversion). It is shown that the main up-conversion mechanism is cumulative pair excitation. These results are convincing evidence that the suppression of absorption from excited levels can be experimentally observed in condensed media.