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arXiv · 2403.12221

Intervalence Plasmons in Boron-Doped Diamond

Souvik Bhattacharya·Jonathan Boyd·Sven Reichardt·Valentin Allard·Amir Hossein Talebi·Nicolò Maccaferri·Olga Shenderova·Aude L. Lereu·Ludger Wirtz·Giuseppe Strangi·R. Mohan Sankaran
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Abstract

Doped semiconductors can exhibit metallic-like properties ranging from superconductivity to tunable localized surface plasmon resonances. Diamond is a wide-bandgap semiconductor that is rendered electronically active by incorporating a hole dopant, boron. While the effects of boron doping on the electronic band structure of diamond are well-studied, any link between charge carriers and plasmons, has never been shown. Here, we report intervalence plasmons in boron-doped diamond, defined as collective electronic excitations between the valence subbands, opened up by the presence of holes. Evidence for these low-energy excitations is provided by valence electron energy loss spectroscopy and near-field infrared spectroscopy. The measured spectra are subsequently reproduced by first-principles calculations based on the contribution of intervalence band transitions to the dielectric function. Our calculations also reveal that the real part of the dielectric function exhibits a crossover characteristic of metallicity. These results suggest a new mechanism for inducing plasmon-like behavior in doped semiconductors, and the possibility of attaining such properties in diamond, a key emerging material for quantum information technologies.

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Souvik Bhattacharya, Jonathan Boyd, Sven Reichardt, Valentin Allard, Amir Hossein Talebi, Nicolò Maccaferri, Olga Shenderova, Aude L. Lereu, Ludger Wirtz, Giuseppe Strangi, R. Mohan Sankaran. 2024-03-18. Intervalence Plasmons in Boron-Doped Diamond. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-55353-0

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