Spatial extent of band bending in diamond due to ion impact as measured by secondary electron emission: Experiment and theory

Abstract

Although hydrogentated diamond emits exceptionally high numbers of electrons upon single ion impact, the secondary electron yield decays at an extremely rapid rate as a function of ion fluence. We report measurements of this rapid decay at extremely low fluences where the ion tracks are widely separated and explain the results by a model based on the downwards bending of the conduction band edge, due to positive charge trapped within the ion track. The present work demonstrates the importance of charge trapping in explaining the electronic properties of diamond and other wide band gap materials. © 2006 The American Physical Society.