Modification of the electrical and optical properties of single crystal diamond with focused MeV ion beams

In this paper an overview is given on recent results obtained in the framework of an Italian/Croatian collaboration aimed to explore the potential of techniques based on focused MeV ion beams to locally modify the structural, electrical and optical features of diamond. Experiments were carried out using light (H, He, C) ion beams with energies of the order of MeV, focused to micrometer-size spot and raster scanned onto the surface of monocrystalline (IIa or Ib) diamond samples. Different energies, ion species and fluences were used, in conjunction with variable thickness masks and post annealing processes, to define three- dimensional structures in diamond, whose electrical/optical/ structural properties have been suitably characterized. Finite element numerical methods have been employed in the modeling of the material modification and in device design.