By using a new implantation doping method (low-damage drive-in), the vacancy concentration which was required for substitutional dopant-atom activation was separated from the damage which was introduced during ion implantation. Excellent B-doped layers were produced, and it was also shown that doping with large atoms such as Al and P was possible. Annealing at temperatures where residual vacancies could diffuse resulted in passivation of the dopant centers. This was consistent with theoretical studies which predicted that the addition of a vacancy to an activated large dopant atom would allow it to relax to a lower energy state.

Recent Results on the Preparation of Doped Layers, Contacts and Interfaces in Diamond by Means of Ion Implantation. J.F.Prins: Diamond Films and Technology, 1998, 8[4], 181-94