N-type semiconducting diamond, and method of making the same

• US 5,051,785 A
• Filed: 06/22/1989
• Issued: 09/24/1991
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Advanced Technology Materials, Inc. (Entegris Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Advanced Technology Materials, Inc. (Entegris Incorporated)
• Inventors: Gordon, Douglas C., Beetz, Charles P. Jr., Brown, Duncan W.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hille, Rolf
• Assistant Examiner(s): Brown, Peter T.
• Application Number:
  US07/369,763
• Time in Patent Office: 824 Days
• Field of Search: 357/4, 357/7, 357/8, 357/9, 357/30, 357/33, 357/34, 423/446, 437/1.81, 156/DIG. 68
• US Class Current: 257/77
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 25/02 Epitaxial-layer growth
• CPC Class Codes: C30B 29/04 Diamond
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0237 Materials
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02527 Carbon, e.g. diamond-like carbon
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02576 N-type
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02581 Transition metal or rare earth elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/0262 Reduction or decomposition of gaseous compounds, e.g. CVD
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/1602 Diamond
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/167 further characterised by the doping material H01L29/1604 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/0054 for devices with an active region comprising only group IV elements
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/343 characterised by the doping materials

Abstract

N-type semiconducting diamond is disclosed, which is intrinsically, i.e., at the time of diamond formation, doped with n-type dopant atoms. Such diamond is advantageously formed by chemical vapor deposition from a source gas mixture comprising a carbon source compound for the diamond, and a volatile precursor compound for the n-type impurity species, so that the n-type impurity atoms are doped in the diamond film in situ during its formation. By such in situ formation technique, shallow n-type impurity atoms, e.g., lithium, arsenic, phosphorous, scandium, antimony, bismuth, and the like, may be incorporated into the crystal lattice in a uniform manner, and without the occurrence of gross lattice asperities and other lattice damage artifacts which result from ion implanation techniques. A corresponding chemical vapor deposition method of forming the n-type semiconducting diamond is disclosed. The n-type semiconducting diamond of the invention may be usefully employed in the formation of diamond-based transistor devices comprising pn diamond junctions, and in other microelectronic device applications.

Claims

1. N-type semiconducting diamond, homogeneously doped with scandium dopant atoms.

2. N-type semiconducting diamond, according to claim 1, wherein the scandium dopant atoms are incorporated in the diamond at a concentration of from about 10¹⁶ scandium dopant atoms per cubic centimeter to about 10¹⁸ scandium dopant atoms per cubic centimeter.

3. N-type semiconducting diamond formed by chemical vapor deposition and doped in-situ during chemical vapor deposition formation with scandium atoms.

4. N-type semiconducting diamond, comprising scandium dopant atoms.

5. N-type semiconducting diamond doped with scandium atoms, formed by chemical vapor deposition from a chemical vapor deposition source gas mixture comprising a carbon source precursor compound and an n-type impurity precursor compound for scandium.

6. N-type semiconducting diamond doped with scandium atoms, having a crystal lattice characterized by the absence of gross lattice asperities and other lattice damage artifacts characteristic of ion implantation techniques.

7. A diamond-based transistor, comprising a pn junction including n-type semiconducting diamond intrinsically doped with scandium atoms.

8. N-type semiconducting diamond having a resistivity of from about 10^-3 to about 10³ ohm centimeters, and intrinsically doped with scandium atoms at a concentration of from about 10¹⁶ scandium atoms per cubic centimeter to about 10¹⁸ scandium atoms per cubic centimeter.