Diamond epitaxy: Basics and applications

Diamond has been used as cutting tools, and also has recently attracted extensive attention as a semiconductor. In the review, its properties and prospects of its electronic devices are shown. Then, principles of crystal growth methods, such as high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) methods, are described. Next, current understanding of defects such as dislocations and stacking faults is described. Further, for the future electronic applications, the present status of wafer technology and impurity doping are described. Finally, the electronic devices made of diamond semiconductors are shown.