AEROSOL DOPING OF FLAME-GROWN DIAMOND FILMS

Diamond films have been deposited using a pre-mixed oxy-acetylene flame onto cooled substrates. Doping of these flame-grown diamond films was achieved by introducing aerosol droplets containing the dopant species into the gas flow. The aerosol was generated by a commercial atomizer and was entrained into the oxygen flow before the flame front leading to a uniform and reproducible flame. Micro-Raman measurements show a decrease in the background fluorescence of the boron-doped films as compared with samples containing other dopants. In addition, low-temperature photoluminescence measurements of both the boron- and silicon-doped films show a significant decrease in the defect bands associated with nitrogen vacancy complexes that are often observed in flame-grown diamond films. The boron-doped diamond samples were also characterized by photoluminescence using the UV 351 nm laser line of an argon ion laser and show both green and/or blue emission.