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AFM induced electrostatic charging of nanocrystalline diamond on silicon
Author(s) -
Verveniotis E.,
Čermák J.,
Kromka A.,
Rezek B.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
physica status solidi (b)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 109
eISSN - 1521-3951
pISSN - 0370-1972
DOI - 10.1002/pssb.200982305
Subject(s) - diamond , kelvin probe force microscope , materials science , substrate (aquarium) , nanocrystalline material , silicon , atomic force microscopy , volta potential , biasing , micrometer , electrostatic force microscope , nanotechnology , thin film , optoelectronics , analytical chemistry (journal) , voltage , chemistry , optics , composite material , electrical engineering , physics , oceanography , engineering , chromatography , geology
A nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) thin film (80 nm) is deposited on a p‐type Si substrate and oxygen terminated by r.f. oxygen plasma. An atomic force microscope (AFM) is used to induce electrostatically charged micrometer‐sized areas on the diamond film by applying a bias voltage on the AFM tip during contact mode scan. Trapped charge is detected by Kelvin force microscopy showing a potential difference of up to 1.4 V. The potential amplitude and spatial distribution are controlled by the bias voltage applied on the tip (±30 V) and scan speed (2–20 µm/s). Contribution of diamond bulk and grain boundaries to the charging effects shows no significant variations. We compare the results with the charging of bare Si substrate.