Morophology and electronic straucture in nitrogen-doped ultrananocrystalline diamond.
Ultrananocrystalline diamond (UNCD) thin films consist of 2-5 nm grains of pure sp{sub 3}-bonded carbon and {approx}0.5-nm-wide grain boundaries with a disordered mixture of sp{sub 2}- and sp{sub 3}-bonded carbon. UNCD exhibits many interesting materials properties that are a direct consequence of its nanoscale morphology. In this work, we report the changes in morphology induced in UNCD by the addition of nitrogen gas to the Ar/CH{sub 4} microwave plasma, as studied using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and nanoprobe-based electron energy-loss spectroscopy. Both the grain size and grain-boundary widths increase with the addition of N{sub 2}, but the overall bonding structure in both regions remains mostly unchanged. These results are used to explain the variation of materials properties of nitrogen-incorporated UNCD films.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC02-06CH11357
- OSTI ID:
- 949657
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/MSD/JA-42997; APPLAB; TRN: US1003606
- Journal Information:
- Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 81, Issue 12 ; Sep. 16, 2002; ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- ENGLISH
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