Optical and electrochemical properties of optically transparent, boron-doped diamond thin film deposited on quartz

The optical and electrochemical properties of transparent, boron-doped diamond thin film; deposited on quartz, are discussed: The films were deposited by microwave-assisted chemical vapor deposition, for 1-2 h, using a 0.5% CH4/H-2 source gas mixture at 45 Torr and 600 W of power. A high rate of diamond nucleation was achieved by mechanically scratching the quartz. This pretreatment leads to the formation of a continuous film, in a short period of time; which consists of manometer-sized grains of diamond. The thin-film electrode was characterized by cyclic voltammetry; atomic force microscopy, and UV-visible absorption spectrophotometry: The film's electrochemical response was evaluated using Ru(NH3)(6)(3+/2+) in 1 M KCl, Fe(CN)(6)(3-/4-) in 1 M KCl, and chlorpromazine (CPZ) in 10 mM HClO4. The film exhibited a low voltammetric background current and a stable and active, voltammetric response for all three redox systems. The optical transparency of the polycrystalline film in the visible region was near 50% and fairly constant between 300 and 800 nm. The optical and electrical properties were extremely stable during 48-h exposure tests' in various aqueous (HNO3, NaOH) solutions and nonaqueous (e.g., chlorinated) solvents. The properties were also extremely stable during anodic and cathodic potential cycling in harsh aqueous environments. This stability is in stark contrast to what was observed for an indium-doped tin oxide thin film coated on quartz. The spectroelectrochemical response (transmission mode) for CPZ was studied in detail, using a thin-layer spectroelectrochemical cell. Thin-layer voltammetry, potential step/absorption measurements, and detection analytical figures of merit are presented. The results demonstrate that durable, stable, and optically transparent diamond thin films, with low electrical resistivity (similar to0.026 Omega.cm) laterally through the film, can be deposited on quartz.