Electrical properties of diamond films grown at low temperature

The unique electronic properties of diamond, associated with the emergence of chemical vapour deposition (CVD) methods for the growth of thin films on non-diamond substrates, have led to considerable interest in electronic devices fabricated from this material. In our previous work, we found that polycrystalline diamond films can be deposited at 250 degrees C using CH4-CO2 gas mixtures. Studying the electrical properties and the upcoming problems of applications of low-temperature diamond films are relevant concerns. In this work, the electrical properties of diamond films grown at low temperatures were studied and compared with those of conventional diamond films. Platinum was used as the upper electrode. The resistivity of low-temperature diamond was around three orders of magnititude lower than that of conventional diamond. However, both the low temperature and conventional growth diamond exihibited rectifying behavior when platinum was used as the upper electrode.