Hydrogen-related defects in single crystalline CVD homoepitaxial diamond film studied by EPR

Single crystalline chemical vapour deposition (CVD) homoepitaxial diamond films have been studied by means of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Hydrogen-related defects similar to the H1 center which is accompanied by nearby hydrogen have been observed at g = 2.0028 +/- 0.0002. From the thickness dependence of the signal intensity, it has been revealed that the hydrogen-related defects distribute uniformly along the depth direction in diamond films. From the non-epitaxial crystallites (NC) density dependence of the signal intensity, it has been indicated that the hydrogen-related defects do not originate from the NC. As for the thermal stability of the centers, the signal intensity does not change after annealing up to 1300 degreesC. These results are consistent with the hydrogen-related defects being distributed over the bulk of diamond film. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.