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Depth profiling of microwave nitrogen-terminated polycrystalline diamond surfaces by energy-dependent X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

At a Glance

Section titled “At a Glance”
MetadataDetails
Publication Date2024-04-10
JournalApplied Surface Science
AuthorsArsène Chemin, Mohan Kumar Kuntumalla, Maria Brzhezinskaya, Tristan Petit, A. Hoffman
InstitutionsHelmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Citations14

Abstract

Section titled “Abstract”

<p><span>Nitrogen-terminated diamonds hold promise for stabilizing near-surface NV<sup>-</sup> centers, which is essential for reliable quantum sensing. Among various surface preparation methods, microwave (MW) nitrogen plasma, known for its minimal surface damage, appears as the most effective choice. In this work, we explore the nature of nitrogen bonding of polycrystalline diamond (PCD) surfaces exposed to MW nitrogen plasma using X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) depth profiling and Near Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structures (NEXAFS) spectroscopy at the C<em>K</em>- and N<em>K</em>-edges. XPS depth profiling with atomic resolution, achieved by varying the probing photon energy using synchrotron radiation and supported by a physical model considering the associated inelastic mean free path (IMFP), suggests a surface of almost fully saturated nitrogen in two main bonding configurations of similar contribution and a low coverage of ~5% of graphene-like islands residing atop the nitrogen-terminated diamond surface. The thermal stability of these surface groups is monitored by <em>in situ </em>annealing up to 700 °C in vacuum. The depth profiles</span><span> </span><span>reveal that nitrogen atoms do not diffuse in the diamond crystal, resulting in excellent diamond crystallinity in the first atomic planes below the surface. C<em>K</em> NEXAFS analysis reveals the position of unoccupied surface states within the diamond bandgap, opening new perspective on the stabilization of near-surface NV<sup>-</sup> centers.</span></p>

Tech Support

Section titled “Tech Support”

Original Source

Section titled “Original Source”

References

Section titled “References”
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  2. 2014 - Effect of oxygen plasma and thermal oxidation on shallow nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond
  3. 2017 - Nitrogen-terminated diamond (111) Surface for room-temperature quantum sensing and simulation [Crossref]
  4. 2020 - Nitrogen in diamond [Crossref]
  5. 2019 - Influence of RF(N2) plasma conditions on the chemical interaction and stability of activated nitrogen with polycrystalline diamond surfaces: a XPS, TPD and HREELS study [Crossref]
  6. 2020 - Nitrogen-terminated polycrystalline diamond surfaces by microwave chemical vapor deposition: thermal stability, chemical states, and electronic structure [Crossref]
  7. 2022 - Microwave N2 plasma nitridation of H-diamond (111) surface studied by ex situ XPS, HREELS, UPS, TPD, LEED and DFT [Crossref]
  8. 2019 - Bonding, structural properties and thermal stability of low damage RF (N2) plasma treated diamond (100) surfaces studied by XPS, LEED, and TPD [Crossref]
  9. 2021 - Effect of Surface hydrogenation on the adsorption and thermal evolution of nitrogen species on Diamond(001) by microwave N2 plasma [Crossref]
  10. 2021 - Nitrogen terminated diamond (111) by RF(N2) plasma - chemical states, thermal stability and structural properties [Crossref]

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