Design and Analysis of Advanced CVD Diamond Dielectric Structures

Abstract

CVD diamond has proven to be a viable material for creating electrical devices. This research focuses on the advanced development and characterization of CVD diamond dielectric films. It is shown in this research that the single most important parameter in the development of diamond dielectric capacitors is electrical conductivity. Conductivity affects all electric mechanisms in a polycrystalline diamond film. Part of this research effort was devoted to analyzing the conduction mechanisms of CVD diamond films. The control and/or suppression of these conduction mechanisms determine the dielectric properties of CVD diamond. This research also focused on the design and development of advanced capacitor structures using CVD diamond. Earlier published work on diamond dielectrics has been limited to basic characterization experiments with simple capacitive structures. Experiments proceeded in this research that produced multi-layer diamond capacitor designs and prototypes.