In-Substrate Imaging of Diamond hBN FET Current via Widefield Quantum Diamond Microscopy

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates noninvasive widefield magnetic imaging of current flow in diamond FETs using NV centers, revealing detailed current distributions and effects of defects and illumination on device operation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of widefield NV magnetometry for in-situ imaging of current in diamond FETs, enabling visualization of buried interface transport and non-uniform gating effects.

Findings

Current flow visualized with micrometer resolution.

Detection of current variations due to dielectric non-uniformities.

Observation of photo-induced changes in device electrostatics.

Abstract

We demonstrate widefield magnetic imaging of current flow in hydrogen terminated diamond field effect transistors (FETs) through in-substrate nitrogen vacancy (NV) centers. Hydrogen termination of the diamond surface induces a two dimensional hole gas (2DHG), while an ensemble of near surface NV centers located $ \sim 1~\mu m$ below the surface enables noninvasive magnetic imaging of current flow with micrometer scale spatial resolution. The FETs were electrically characterized over a range of drain source biases $V_{ds}= 0$ to $-15V$ and gate voltages,$V_{gs}= +3$ to $-9V$ followed by in situ widefield NV magnetometry during device operation. Magnetic field maps and reconstructed current density distributions directly visualize current injection at the source drain contacts and transport beneath the hBN gated channel. Magnetic field maps reveal current density variations in the channel region owing to non-uniformities or defects in the gate dielectric. In addition, we observe a pronounced enhancement of the drain current ($\sim 600-900 \mu A$) and a shift in the apparent threshold voltage during laser illumination, reflecting photo induced changes in channel electrostatics. By correlating gate dependent magnetic images with simultaneous electrical measurements, we directly link spatial current distributions to FET transfer characteristics, providing new insight into buried interface transport and non-uniform gating effects in the transistor channel. As the methodology is compatible with top gated FETs, it can be used to map channel current distributions with micrometer resolution in emerging channel materials, such as 2D materials and wide bandgap channels, and establish widefield NV magnetometry as a powerful platform for probing charge transport in transistors and Van der Waals dielectric heterostructures.