Charge-Carrier Mobility in Diamond: Review, Data Compilation, and Modelling for Detector Simulations

Abstract

Reported electron and hole mobilities and saturation velocities in diamond vary widely across the literature. We provide a consolidated review of first-principles predicted and experimentally measured mobility and saturation-velocity values in diamond, alongside a focused assessment of the semi-empirical mobility models used to extract low-field mobilities and high-field saturation velocities. We attribute the dispersion primarily to (i) the electric-field window probed in TCT measurements, (ii) the choice of mobility model, and (iii) the excitation source ($\alpha$, laser, or electron). Using an aggregated literature dataset, we benchmark the Trofimenkoff and Caughey--Thomas parameterizations together with a new piecewise model for both conduction- and valence-band transport. For electrons, the piecewise model provides the best global description over a broad electric-field range. It can be interpreted as the room-temperature limit of a more general superposition framework that explicitly incorporates intervalley repopulation in the conduction band. For holes, the Caughey--Thomas model remains the statistically preferred description, consistent with the absence of a repopulation signature in the accessible data. Furthermore, we demonstrate a systematic source dependence ($\alpha$ versus laser) and quantify its impact on fitted mobility and saturation-velocity values. We provide temperature scalings over narrow intervals around room temperature to support Jacoboni--Canali-type parameterization for diamond. Together, these results reconcile much of the apparent inconsistency in the literature and offer guidance for model selection, experimental design, and device-level simulation of charge transport in intrinsic diamond.

26 pages, 10 figures, several tables. Review and global analysis of diamond charge-carrier mobility data. Provides recommended drift-velocity and mobility parameters for detector/device simulations. Supporting digitised dataset available at doi:10.17877/TUDODATA-2025-MIESBVSN

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