It was recalled that many experimental studies had investigated the possibility of incorporating Li in order to obtain n-type electrical conductivity. However, the results had been somewhere inconsistent. The status of Li impurities in diamond was described here with respect to incorporation methods, Li diffusion analysis and the characterization of the effects of Li diffusion upon electrical and optical properties. New Li diffusion experiments were also performed. Some of them involved the application of an electrical field in order to enhance the diffusion of Li+. The diffusion coefficients of Li were found range from 10-15 to 10-14cm2/s, at 400 to 860C. The activation energy for diffusion was estimated to be 0.26eV. This was much less than the 0.85eV which was theoretically predicted. The application of the electrical field led to ambivalent results. No n-type conductivity was measured following Li in-diffusion; thus supporting the hypothesis that Li which was incorporated at high concentrations remained clustered in the near-surface region.

Diffusion of Lithium in Diamond. C.Uzan-Saguy, C.Cytermann, B.Fizgeer, V.Richter, R.Brener, R.Kalish: Physica Status Solidi A, 193[3], 508-16