Subsurface nitrogen bonding and thermal stability of low-energy nitrogen implanted H-Diamond (100) surfaces studied by XPS and HREELS

We investigate the surface/subsurface bonding, retention, and thermal stability of nitrogen in H-Diamond (100) implanted with 200 eV N-2(+) at a dose of 1x10(14) ions/cm(2) (D1) in comparison to a dose of 3-4x10(14) ions/cm(2) (D2) and to nitrogen adsorbed on the surface (by MW(N-2) exposure) by electron spectroscopy. For D1, the N(1s) XP line displays a single symmetric peak associated with C-N/C=N species, concurrently observing a minor C=C/C (def) component in C(1s). The N(1s) line intensity decreases linearly with annealing temperature without changes in line shape. This could be due to competition of diffusion of trapped nitrogen from interstitial positions followed by desorption and recombination of the implanted nitrogen with carbon vacancies, resulting in very thermally stable nitrogen species. The latter process is dominant at -700 degrees C where the onset of vacancies diffusion in diamond occurs. For D2, an additional component associated with C inverted iota N(nitrile-like) bonds is observed. From vibrational spectroscopy, the H-Diamond surface implanted with a D1 dose displays features associated with nitrogen bonding to carbon atoms and hydrogen bonding to the diamond surface and defects. Unlike the MW(N-2) plasma case, no NHx(ads) bonds are identified upon implantation. High-temperature annealing shows that for the D1 dose, partial surface structural recovery occurs.

Automated summary

By investigating the bonding, retention, and thermal stability of nitrogen in H-Diamond (100), it was found that nitrogen can partially recover its bonding with carbon atoms after high-temperature annealing, indicating a high thermal stability of nitrogen in diamond.