Failure mechanism of diamond under electrical breakdown

ZY Yan and GY Zheng and HC Zhang and RC Geng and HX Zhang and HY Pan and JC Hao and KW Shen and DJ Wang and QB Yan and GC Chen, CELL REPORTS PHYSICAL SCIENCE, 6, 102843 (2025).

DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2025.102843

Diamond holds immense potential for high-power electronics due to its ultrahigh breakdown field strength and exceptional thermal conductivity. However, material failure under extreme electric fields necessitates a fundamental understanding of crystallographic-orientation-dependent breakdown mechanisms. In this work, we designed and performed in situ breakdown experiments on single-crystal diamond within the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) mode, achieving controlled breakdown under real-time observation. Comprehensive structural, compositional, and stress analyses revealed that failure initiates preferentially along the (111) plane, driven by sequential lattice distortion and amorphization. Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations further elucidated atomic-scale degradation pathways, demonstrating anisotropic thermal stability across low-index crystallographic orientations. The (111)-oriented surface exhibited pronounced structural collapse under thermal stress, while (100) and (110) planes maintained integrity until higher thresholds. This work's integrated experimental-computational approach clarifies crystallographic dependency in diamond breakdown, offering critical insights for designing robust diamond devices.

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