X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of cubic boron nitride single crystals grown under high pressure and high temperature

Abstract The defects, impurities and their bonding states of unintentionally doped cubic boron nitride (cBN) single crystals were investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicate that nitrogen vacancy (V N ) is the main native defect of the cBN crystals since the atomic ratio of B:N is always larger than 1 before Ar ion sputtering. After sputter cleaning, around 6 at% carbon, which probably comes from the growth chamber, remains in the samples as the main impurity. Carbon can substitute nitrogen lattice site and form the bonding states of C B N or C B, which can be verified by the XPS spectra of C1s, B1s and N1s. The C impurity (acceptor) and N vacancy (donor) can compose the donor–acceptor complex to affect the electrical and optical properties of cBN crystals.