Mapping the Local Spatial Charge in Defective Diamond by Means of N-V Sensors—A Self-Diagnostic Concept
At a Glance
Section titled “At a Glance”| Metadata | Details |
|---|---|
| Publication Date | 2018-07-25 |
| Journal | Physical Review Applied |
| Authors | J. Forneris, S. Ditalia Tchernij, P. Traina, Ekaterina Moreva, N. Skukan |
| Institutions | Universität Ulm, Rudjer Boskovic Institute |
| Citations | 22 |
Abstract
Section titled “Abstract”Electrically-active defects have a significant impact on the performance of\nelectronic devices based on wide band-gap materials such as diamond. This issue\nis ubiquitous in diamond science and technology, since the presence of charge\ntraps in the active regions of different classes of diamond-based devices\n(detectors, power diodes, transistors) can significantly affect their\nperformances, due to the formation of space charge, memory effects and the\ndegradation of the electronic response associated with radiation damage. Among\nthe most common defects in diamond, the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center possesses\nunique spin properties which enable high-sensitivity field sensing at the\nnanoscale. Here we demonstrate that NV ensembles can be successfully exploited\nto perform a direct local mapping of the internal electric field distribution\nof a graphite-diamond-graphite junction exhibiting electrical properties\ndominated by trap- and space-charge-related conduction mechanisms. By\nperforming optically-detected magnetic resonance measurements, we performed\nboth punctual readout and spatial mapping of the electric field in the active\nregion at different bias voltages. In this novel “self-diagnostic” approach,\ndefect complexes represent not only the source of detrimental space charge\neffects, but also a unique tool to directly investigate them, by providing\nexperimental evidences on the conduction mechanisms that in previous studies\ncould only be indirectly inferred on the basis of conventional electrical and\noptical characterization.\n