title: Direct imaging of boron segregation at dislocations in B:diamond heteroepitaxial films.
abstract: A thin film of heavily B-doped diamond has been grown epitaxially by microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition on an undoped diamond layer, on top of a Ir/YSZ/Si(001) substrate stack, to study the boron segregation and boron environment at the dislocations present in the film. The density and nature of the dislocations were investigated by conventional and weak-beam dark-field transmission electron microscopy techniques, revealing the presence of two types of dislocations: edge and mixed-type 45° dislocations. The presence and distribution of B in the sample was studied using annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy and spatially resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy. Using these techniques, a segregation of B at the dislocations in the film is evidenced, which is shown to be intermittent along the dislocation. A single edge-type dislocation was selected to study the distribution of the boron surrounding the dislocation core. By imaging this defect at atomic resolution, the boron is revealed to segregate towards the tensile strain field surrounding the edge-type dislocations. An investigation of the fine structure of the B-K edge at the dislocation core shows that the boron is partially substitutionally incorporated into the diamond lattice and partially present in a lower coordination (sp(2)-like hybridization).
authors.affiliation: EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium. stuart.turner@uantwerpen.be.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.affiliation: EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium. stuart.turner@uantwerpen.be and Institute of Mechanics, Materials and Civil Engineering, Université catholique de Louvain, Place Sainte Barbe 2, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Idrissi
authors.affiliation: Universität Augsburg, Institut für Physik, D-86135 Augsburg, Germany.
authors.forename: A F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Sartori
authors.affiliation: EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium. stuart.turner@uantwerpen.be.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Korneychuck
authors.affiliation: EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium. stuart.turner@uantwerpen.be and Department of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Science, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd., Charlotte, NC 28223, USA.
authors.forename: Y-G
authors.initials: YG
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium. stuart.turner@uantwerpen.be.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verbeeck
authors.affiliation: Universität Augsburg, Institut für Physik, D-86135 Augsburg, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schreck
authors.affiliation: EMAT, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium. stuart.turner@uantwerpen.be.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Van Tendeloo