Auger electron spectroscopy of the hydrogen terminated chemical vapor deposited diamond surface

A simultaneous study of Auger spectra and secondary electron emission from the chemical vapor deposited diamond films under extended electron beam exposure is presented. Up to a 1.2 eV increase in energy of the carbon Auger peak accompanied by the decrease of the total secondary electron yield has been found. Exposure to hydrogen has resulted in recovery of the both Auger peak position and secondary yield. First-principles electronic structure calculations have shown that the effect is due to a change in the surface upper-valence band local density of states of the diamond crystal which is dependent on the extent of hydrogen coverage of the surface.