Electrical and Optical Properties of a Semiconducting Diamond

Abstract

The electrical resistivity and Hall coefficient of a semiconducting diamond (Type IIb) have been measured between - 100°C and 600°C using standard d.c. methods. The diamond behaves like a normal p-type semiconductor. At 20°C its resistivity is 270 ohm cm and the Hall mobility of the holes is 1550±150 cm2 volt-1 sec-1. Near this temperature the mobility varies approximately as T-3/2. The activation energy of the acceptors is 0.38 eV. It is suggested that these acceptors are impurity atoms and that the total concentration of impurities is smaller in Type IIb diamonds than in other diamonds.