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> I should point out that diamonds can also make very good semiconductors when properly doped, with very large carrier mobility compared to silicon. We just do
by jpdoctor 15y ago
> I should point out that diamonds can also make very good semiconductors when properly doped, with very large carrier mobility compared to silicon. We just don't know how to make the necessarily complex patters on them.
Don't know what you mean by "properly doped": The biggest problem with diamond is that it is a bitch to make n-type. In fact, the conduction band is above the vacuum level!
It is why people try to use diamond as a thermionic emitter: electrons in the conduction band naturally try to leave the material.
- stephengillie 15y agoDoping is the intentional adding of impurities. Maybe phosphorous could be added among the carbon molecules in the diamond, similar to how silicon is doped with phosphorous to make a better semiconductor. Maybe nitrogen or oxygen would be a better choice, for the similarity in molecule size - they wouldn't disrupt the diamond's carbon lattice structure as much. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N-type_semiconductor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N-type_semiconductor
- jpdoctor 15y agoYou realize that pretty much every group V dopant has been already measured? The problem is that n-type dopants are deep in energy, far away from the conduction band. So the electron from the donor stays with the dopant atom rather than activating and putting its electron in the conduction band. > Maybe nitrogen or oxygen would be a better choice, for the similarity in molecule size [Typo: Dopants are atoms not molecules.] Many Group V atoms have been tried. See eg http://phycomp.technion.ac.il/~david/thesis/node17.html http://phycomp.technion.ac.il/~david/thesis/node17.html
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]