Intrinsic Carrier Parameters and Optical Carrier Injection Method in High-Purity Diamonds

Abstract

Diamond attracts increasing attentions as a semiconductor, since high-purity synthesized diamonds have become commercially available in these decades. For appropriate design of any devices, the basic carrier transport parameters should be known. However, it has been difficult to determine carrier parameters in diamond, because the controlled doping and Ohmic contact formation have been hard to achieve. In this chapter, a modern experimental method to measure basic carrier parameters, such as the effective mass, scattering times, and mobility of intrinsic diamonds, is introduced. The method, i.e., nanosecond time-resolved cyclotron resonance (TRCR), is applicable to optically injected carriers in intrinsic diamonds without wire connection. Following the key technique of optical carrier injection, detailed analysis methods for the cyclotron resonance spectra are introduced. The extracted basic parameters of diamond are summarized in comparison to those of silicon and germanium in the same group-IV semiconductor family. This is worthy for triggering further ideas in application-oriented researches using widespread materials.