Morophology and electronic straucture in nitrogen-doped ultrananocrystalline diamond.

Journal Article · Mon Sep 16 04:00:00 EDT 2002 · Appl. Phys. Lett.

OSTI ID:949657

Birrell, J; Carlisle, J A; Auciello, O; Gruen, D M; Gibson, J M

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 Laboratory (ANL)
• Sponsoring Organization: SC
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 949657
• Report Number(s): ANL/MSD/JA-42997
• Journal Information: Appl. Phys. Lett., Journal Name: Appl. Phys. Lett. Journal Issue: 12 ; Sep. 16, 2002 Vol. 81; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: ENGLISH

Related Subjects

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
BONDING
CARBON
DIAMONDS
ELECTRONIC STRUCTURE
ELECTRONS
ENERGY-LOSS SPECTROSCOPY
GRAIN BOUNDARIES
GRAIN SIZE
MIXTURES
MORPHOLOGY
NITROGEN
PLASMA
THIN FILMS
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY