Diamond single crystal surface modification under high-fluence ion irradiation

The modification of (111) face of synthetic diamond has been studied experimentally for high-fluence 30 keV argon bombardment. It has been found that ion irradiation leads to the electrically conductive layer formation the sheet resistance of which decreases more than 100 times while changing the temperature of the irradiated diamond from 70 to 400 oC. This effect, as well as significant changes of optical transmittance after ion irradiation are associated with ion-induced structural changes of irradiated diamond obtained by the methods of Raman spectroscopy.