Local electrical properties of hydrogenated (001) and (111) surfaces of single crystalline diamond

The hydrogenation of Ib-type single crystalline diamond with grain size of several tens of micrometers, synthesized by high-pressure and high-temperature (HPHT) sintering, was carried out by hydrogen plasma treatment in a hot-filament chemical vapor deposition (HFCVD) system. After exposure to air, the surface conductivity of (001) and (111) facets of HPHT single crystalline diamond was measured. The influences of hydrogenation duration, temperature and gas pressure on the surface conductivity of (001) and (111) facets have been investigated. The measurement results show that the variation of hydrogenation conditions has a noticeable effect on the surface conductivity of single crystalline diamond, which is closely related to the formation of a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) regrowth layer on the facets induced by hydrogen plasma treatment process. In addition, (001) surface exhibits higher electrical conductivity than (111) surface, which is mainly attributed to less nitrogen concentration on the (001) surface than on the (111) surface.