Single-crystal Chemical Vapor Deposition Diamond Research Articles

High-temperature performance of solid-state sensors up to 500 °C

The applicabilities of single-crystal chemical vapour deposition diamond sensors and 4H-SiC diodes for particle spectroscopy in high-temperature environments are investigated. The spectroscopic performance of the sensor materials is measured as function of temperature, from room temperature to 500 °C. Previously published measurements showed a stable spectroscopic response of sCVD diamond sensors up to 200 °C. In this follow-up experiment, the temperature range was extended up to 500 °C for sCVD diamond as well as 4H-SiC sensors.

Recent development of neutron and energetic-particle diagnostics for LHD deuterium discharges

An integrated set of neutron diagnostics developed for the deuterium operation of the Large Helical Device (LHD) has been revealing behavior of energetic ions in three-dimensional plasmas, together with energetic-particle diagnostics. In order to obtain deeper understanding of physics related to energetic ions in the LHD, development of plasma diagnostics that can provide energy distribution of energetic ions is now being accelerated. Recent advances in development of the D-D neutron energy spectrometer, a neutral particle analyzer based on a single-crystal chemical vapor deposition diamond, and a tangential fast-ion Dα diagnostic for deuterium discharges of the LHD are described.

Performance of CVD diamond detectors for single ion beam-tagging applications in hadrontherapy monitoring

In the context of online ion range verification in particle therapy, the CLaRyS collaboration is developing Prompt-Gamma (PG) detection systems. The originality in the CLaRyS approach is to use a beam-tagging hodoscope in coincidence with the gamma detectors to provide both temporal and spatial information of the incoming ions. The ion range sensitivity of such PG detection systems could be improved by detecting single ions with a 100ps (σ) time resolution, through a quality assurance procedure at low beam intensity at the beginning of the treatment session. This work presents the investigations that led to assessment of the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) diamond detectors performance to fulfill these requirements. A 90Sr beta source, 68MeV protons, 95 MeV/u carbon ions and a synchrotron X-ray pulsed beam were used to measure the time resolution, single ion detection efficiency and proton counting capability of various CVD diamond samples. An offline technique, based on double-sided readout with fast current preamplifiers used to improve the signal-to-noise ratio, is also presented. The different tests highlighted Time-Of-Flight resolutions ranging from 13ps (σ) to 250ps (σ), depending on the diamond crystal quality and the particle type and energy. The single 68MeV proton detection efficiency of various large area polycrystalline (pCVD) samples was measured to be >96% using coincidence measurements with a single-crystal reference detector. Single-crystal CVD (sCVD) diamond proved to be able to count a discrete number of simultaneous protons while it was not achievable with a polycrystalline sample. Considering the results of the present study, two diamond hodoscope demonstrators are under development: one based on sCVD, and one of larger size based on pCVD. They will be used for the purpose of single ion as well as ion bunches detection, either at reduced or clinical beam intensities.

Growth of polycrystalline and single-crystal CVD diamonds with bright photoluminescence of Ge-V color centers using germane GeH4 as the dopant source

Germanium-Vacancy (Ge-V) color center in diamond possesses a narrow band photoluminescence (PL) emission in the orange spectral range interesting as a single-photon source for quantum optical technologies and thermometry, therefore, development of methods for the controllable doping of diamond with Ge is of high importance for such applications. Here, we report on the synthesis of polycrystalline and epitaxial single crystal Ge-doped films using microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique by addition of the germane GeH4 gas into the H2-CH4 plasma. It is demonstrated, that GeH4 addition affects the CVD growth of microcrystalline diamond, reducing the film growth rate and increasing the average diamond grain size. The films show bright photoluminescence of Ge-V centers at ≈602 nm under the optimized GeH4 concentration, with a zero-phonon line width of 1.6 nm (FWHM) for Ge-V ensemble at low temperatures (5 K). The developed in-situ doping from the germane gas opens a way for a better control of the Ge-V color center formation in diamond for photonic applications.

Beam test results of the dependence of signal size on incident particle flux in diamond pixel and pad detectors

We present results of beam tests of charged particle detectors based on single-crystal and poly-crystalline Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) diamond. We measured the signal pulse height dependence on the particle flux. The detectors were tested over a range of particle fluxes from 2 kHz/cm2 to 20 MHz/cm2. The pulse height of the sensors was measured with pad and pixel readout electronics. The pulse height of the non-irradiated single-crystal CVD diamond pad sensors was stable with respect to flux, while the pulse height of irradiated single-crystal CVD diamond pad sensors decreased with increasing particle flux. The pulse height of the non-irradiated single-crystal CVD diamond pixel detectors decreased slightly with increasing particle flux while the pulse height of the irradiated single-crystal CVD diamond pixel detectors decreased significantly with increasing particle flux. The observed sensitivity to flux is similar in both the diamond pad sensors constructed using diamonds from the Pixel Luminosity Telescope (PLT) irradiated during its pilot run in the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector and in neutron irradiated diamond pad sensors from the same manufacturer irradiated to the same fluence of neutrons. The pulse height for irradiated poly-crystalline CVD diamond pad sensors proved to be stable with respect to particle flux.

Fabrication of Microstructures Embedded in SC-CVD Diamond with a Focused Proton Microbeam

Microstructure patterning in single-crystal chemical vapor deposition (SC-CVD) diamond films was investigated to establish a direct patterning procedure by using proton beam writing with a focused microbeam of protons. Test microstructural patterns on SC-CVD diamond with different total fluences from 0.5 to 10 pC/μm2 were formed with a probe diameter of approximately 1 μm, a maximum scanning area of 800 × 800 μm, and a beam current of up to 100 pA. The most intensively irradiated pattern with beam fluence of 10 pC/μm2 was visualized with both transmission and reflection optical microscopy. The other patterns created with lower beam fluences were characterized by the changes in reflective index and were visible only in the transmission microscopy images. The depth of patterns was precisely controlled by changing proton energies in range of 0.75–3 MeV. The structures in depth from 5 to 45 μm were successfully observed in optical microscope images.

Response measurement of single-crystal chemical vapor deposition diamond radiation detector for intense X-rays aiming at neutron bang-time and neutron burn-history measurement on an inertial confinement fusion with fast ignition.

A neutron bang time and burn history monitor in inertial confinement fusion with fast ignition are necessary for plasma diagnostics. In the FIREX project, however, no detector attained those capabilities because high-intensity X-rays accompanied fast electrons used for plasma heating. To solve this problem, single-crystal CVD diamond was grown and fabricated into a radiation detector. The detector, which had excellent charge transportation property, was tested to obtain a response function for intense X-rays. The applicability for neutron bang time and burn history monitor was verified experimentally. Charge collection efficiency of 99.5% ± 0.8% and 97.1% ± 1.4% for holes and electrons were obtained using 5.486 MeV alpha particles. The drift velocity at electric field which saturates charge collection efficiency was 1.1 ± 0.4 × 10(7) cm/s and 1.0 ± 0.3 × 10(7) cm/s for holes and electrons. Fast response of several ns pulse width for intense X-ray was obtained at the GEKKO XII experiment, which is sufficiently fast for ToF measurements to obtain a neutron signal separately from X-rays. Based on these results, we confirmed that the single-crystal CVD diamond detector obtained neutron signal with good S/N under ion temperature 0.5-1 keV and neutron yield of more than 10(9) neutrons/shot.

A nitrogen doped low-dislocation density free-standing single crystal diamond plate fabricated by a lift-off process

A nitrogen-doped single crystal diamond plate with a low dislocation density is fabricated by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) from a high pressure high temperature synthetic type IIa seed substrate by ion implantation and lift-off processes. To avoid sub-surface damage, the seed surface was subjected to deep ion beam etching. In addition, we introduced a nitrogen flow during the CVD step to grow low-strain diamond at a relatively high growth rate. This resulted in a plate with low birefringence and a dislocation density as low as 400 cm−2, which is the lowest reported value for a lift-off plate. Reproducing this lift-off process may allow mass-production of single crystal CVD diamond plates with low dislocation density and consistent quality.

Characterisation of scCVD diamond detectors with γ sources

A single-crystal CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) diamond detector was used to measure γ rays in order to assess its performance in terms of energy resolution and linearity. For this purpose, 57Co, 133Ba, 22Na, 207Bi and 137Cs γ sources were used. Electrons scattered by the backward Compton process were detected in the diamond, in coincidence with (backscattered) γs measured in a NaI detector, placed at 180° from the CVD diamond detector with respect to the source. The resulting calibration shows a linear dependence of the charge deposited in the diamond and a resolution of about 24keV FWHM for the energy of the incident γs between 40keV (57Co) and 477keV (137Cs), comparable with the resolution of our electronic chain.

All-carbon detector with buried graphite pillars in CVD diamond

A diamond detector of 3D architecture without any metallization is developed for spectroscopy of ionizing radiation and single particles detection. The carbon electrode system was fabricated using a femtosecond infrared laser (\(\lambda \) = 1,030 nm) to induce graphitization on the surface and inside 4.0 \(\times \) 4.0 \(\times \) 0.4 mm\(^{3}\) single-crystal chemical vapor deposition diamond slab, resulting in an array of 84 buried graphite pillars of 30 \(\upmu \)m diameter formed orthogonally to the surface and connected by surface graphite strips. Sensitivity to ionizing radiation with \(^{90}\)Sr \(\upbeta \)-source has been measured for the 3D detector and high charge collection efficiency is demonstrated.

Radiation-assisted Frenkel-Poole transport in single-crystal diamond

The measurement of the density of occupied states as a function of the applied electric field, performed on single-crystal chemical vapour deposition diamond by x-ray modulated photocurrent technique, is reported. Two regimes of non-linear charge transport were observed: a classical Frenkel-Poole (FP) process at high electric fields (>6800 V/cm), and a radiation-assisted transport mechanism at intermediate electric fields (2000 to 6800 V/cm), consisting of a double-step process in which the direct re-emission into the extended band occurs following multiple photo-induced FP-like hopping transitions.

Temperature dependence of charge carrier mobility in single-crystal chemical vapour deposition diamond

Measurements of the temperature dependence of the charge carrier mobility in single-crystal chemical vapour deposition diamond using the transient current technique are presented in a temperature range from 2 K to room temperature. An α-source is used to create free charge carriers in the diamond bulk. The evolution of the current signal induced by their drift under the influence of an externally applied field is studied as a function of the temperature and the electric field strength. The electric field strength is varied by a factor of 30. The measurements are used to extract the transit time, the drift velocity, the saturation velocity, and the low-field mobility in terms of which the results are interpreted. Three samples have been studied which show the same behaviour. For holes, the mobility increases with decreasing temperature due to the acoustic phonon scattering, but it saturates for ultra-cold temperatures. The low-field mobility for holes at room temperature is measured as μ0h(295K)=(2534±20) cm2/Vs saturating against μ0h(→2K)=(11130±120) cm2/Vs. For electrons, only a lower limit on the low-field mobility can be given. It is measured as μ¯0e(295K)=(1802±14) cm2/Vs saturating against μ¯0e(→2K)=(3058±27) cm2/Vs. The electron transit time at low fields shows a different behaviour than the hole transit time and is not following the expected behaviour. This is likely to be caused by a high temperature valley re-population effect.

Characterization of CVD-diamonds for radiation detection

We report the results of our investigations on high quality single crystal chemical vapor deposition (SC-CVD) diamonds to be used as ionizing radiation detectors. Recent progress in growth of synthetic diamonds of very high purity and high homogeneity has opened perspectives to a new type of UV photosensors in order to work with large volume two-phase liquid-Ar and/or liquid-Xe detectors, nowadays under design for next generation dark matter search. SC-CVD diamonds supplied by Brevetti Bizz firm of San Bonifacio (VR, Italy) were investigated and the results are presented and discussed.

Single-crystal CVD diamonds as small-angle X-ray scattering windows for high-pressure research

Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) was performed on single-crystal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamonds with low nitrogen concentrations, which were fabricated by microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition at high growth rates. High optical quality undoped 500 µm-thick single-crystal CVD diamonds grown without intentional nitrogen addition proved to be excellent as windows on SAXS cells, yielding parasitic scattering no more intense than a 7.5 µm-thick Kapton film. A single-crystal CVD diamond window was successfully used in a high-pressure SAXS cell.

EPR of a defect in CVD diamond involving both silicon and hydrogen that shows preferential alignment

A defect involving both silicon and hydrogen has been characterized using multifrequency electron paramagnetic resonance. The defect, denoted WAR3, was observed in a single-crystal chemical-vapor deposition diamond, which was homoepitaxially grown on a {110}-oriented substrate and doped with isotopically enriched silicon (90% Si-29). The obtained data are explained by a silicon divacancy structure which is decorated by a hydrogen atom and is in the neutral charge state, (Si-V2:H)(0) (S=1/2). The experimentally derived Si-29 and H-1 hyperfine parameters are in agreement with values calculated using the spin-density-functional technique, ruling out a nonplanar structure. Defects are usually randomly oriented such that there is an equal probability for the symmetry axis of the defect to lie along each of the crystallographically equivalent directions. However, the WAR3 defect shows preferential alignment with respect to the {110} growth plane of the sample. Approximately four times as many WAR3 centers were aligned with their mirror planes lying perpendicular to the growth plane, compared to a statistical distribution. This indicates that the majority of WAR3 defects grew in as units rather than by the diffusion and aggregation of constituents. Analysis of the increase in the WAR3 concentration and the decrease in preferential alignment upon annealing the sample at 1400 degrees C shows that WAR3 can also be created post growth.

Diamond pixel modules

With the commissioning of the LHC in 2010 and upgrades expected in 2015, ATLAS and CMS are planning to upgrade their innermost tracking layers with radiation hard technologies. Chemical Vapor Deposition diamond has been used extensively in beam conditions monitors as the innermost detectors in the highest radiation areas of BaBar, Belle, CDF and all LHC experiments. This material is now being considered as a sensor material for use very close to the interaction region where the most extreme radiation conditions exist. Recently the RD42 collaboration constructed, irradiated and tested polycrystalline and single-crystal chemical vapor deposition diamond sensors to the highest fluences expected at the super-LHC. We present beam test results of chemical vapor deposition diamond up to fluences of 1.8×10 16 protons/cm 2 illustrating that both polycrystalline and single-crystal chemical vapor deposition diamonds follow a single damage curve. We also present beam test results of irradiated complete diamond pixel modules.

Diamond detectors for hadron physics research

The application of diamond for the detection of charged particles in atomic, nuclear and high-energy physics experiments is described. We compare the properties of three undoped diamond types, all of them produced by Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD), in particular homoepitaxial single-crystal CVD Diamond (scCVDD), polycrystalline CVD Diamond (pcCVDD) grown on silicon, and CVD Diamond on Iridium (DoI) grown on the multi-layer substrate Ir/YSZ/Si001. The characteristics of the transient current (TC) signals generated from 241Am-α-particles in the samples are exploited to evaluate the potential of the diamond crystals for particle timing and spectroscopy applications. The TC technique (TCT) results are correlated to the dark conductivity and the structural defects of the bulk materials as well as to the morphology and roughness of the diamond surfaces. The deterioration of the sensors performance after heavy irradiations with 26 MeV protons, 20 MeV neutrons, and 10 MeV electrons is discussed by means of charge-collection efficiency results, TC technique, and optical absorption spectroscopy (OAS). The important role of the diamond signal processing is underlined, which influences both the quality of the CVDD characterization data as well as the in-beam performance of the diamond sensors.

Improvements of crystallinity of single crystal diamond plates produced by lift-off process using ion implantation

A single crystal diamond substrate cut from a 9 mm thick ingot which was grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) was used to produce freestanding single crystal CVD diamond plates with improved crystallinity by the lift-off process using ion implantation. To reduce dislocations on the substrate surface, the ingot was sliced along the {100} plane parallel to the growth direction. In addition, the repeated lift-off processes reduced the surface damage on the substrate. These treatments were shown to improve the crystallinity of the CVD diamond plates produced by polarized light microscopy (PLM) and high-resolution X-ray.

Chemical vapour deposition synthetic diamond: materials, technology and applications

Substantial developments have been achieved in the synthesis of chemical vapourdeposition (CVD) diamond in recent years, providing engineers and designers with accessto a large range of new diamond materials. CVD diamond has a number of outstandingmaterial properties that can enable exceptional performance in applications asdiverse as medical diagnostics, water treatment, radiation detection, high powerelectronics, consumer audio, magnetometry and novel lasers. Often the material issynthesized in planar form; however, non-planar geometries are also possible and enablea number of key applications. This paper reviews the material properties andcharacteristics of single crystal and polycrystalline CVD diamond, and how these can beutilized, focusing particularly on optics, electronics and electrochemistry. It alsosummarizes how CVD diamond can be tailored for specific applications, on thebasis of the ability to synthesize a consistent and engineered high performanceproduct.

Improving purity and size of single-crystal diamond plates produced by high-rate CVD growth and lift-off process using ion implantation

The lift-off process using ion implantation has recently been applied to produce large and thick single-crystal diamond plates by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). CVD growth conditions for undoped, as opposed to nitrogen-doped, diamond were investigated to improve the purity of plates produced by this technique. This utilized apparatus identical to that for high-rate growth with nitrogen addition under high-density plasma. By lowering the growth temperature to 900 °C, an undoped single-crystal CVD diamond plate with a maximum length of 9 mm and thickness of 0.47 mm was successfully produced without formation of non-epitaxial crystallites. The UV–Vis–NIR transmission spectrum of this plate was identical to high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) synthetic IIa diamond, suggesting high purity of the plate. To increase the size of single-crystal CVD diamond plates, a process to enlarge the seed crystal by combining the lift-off process and a side-surface growth technique is proposed. By this process, a half-inch single-crystal CVD diamond seed crystal was successfully synthesized and half-inch freestanding single-crystal CVD diamond plates were produced from the seed.