Bonding, retention and thermal stability of shallow nitrogen in diamond (100) by low-energy nitrogen implantation

We investigate the sub-surface bonding, retention, and thermal stability of nitrogen in diamond (100) implanted with 200 and 800 eV N2+ at room temperature (RT) and 600 C-? at an ion dose of 3.4x10(14) ions/cm(2). Upon 200 eV N-2+implantation at RT and 600 C-?, nitrogen is incorporated in the diamond lattice mainly in a C-N/C=N bond bonding configuration alongside a small C---N(nitrile-like) component. 800 eV N2+implantation at both RT and 600 C-?, the implanted nitrogen can occupy multiple bonding configurations, including C-N/C=N and C---N (nitrile-like) bonds. Implantation at 600 C-? resulted in higher thermal stability of the implanted nitrogen compared to RT implantation due to dynamic annealing assisted defect curing and desorption of weekly bonded species (possibly nitrogen bonded to defects) during the high temperature implantation. The long-range order of the N-2+ implanted diamond surfaces was also investigated using low-energy electron diffraction measurements.

Automated summary

In this study, the sub-surface bonding, retention, and thermal stability of nitrogen in diamond (100) implanted with 200 and 800 eV N2+ at different temperatures were investigated. The results show that at room temperature and 600°C, nitrogen is mainly incorporated in the diamond lattice in a C-N/C=N bond configuration with a small C---N(nitrile-like) component for 200 eV N2+ implantation. For 800 eV N2+ implantation, nitrogen can occupy multiple bonding configurations including C-N/C=N and C---N bonds. Implantation at 600°C exhibited higher thermal stability of the implanted nitrogen due to defect curing and desorption of weakly bonded species.