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

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Bathla, Anuj, Pradhan, Subrat Kumar, Dash, Ajit Kumar, Anand, Prabhat, Chandra, M. Girish, Watanabe, Kenji, Taniguchi, Takashi, Singh, Akshay, Deshpande, Veeresh, Saha, Kasturi
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866915746236334080
author Bathla, Anuj
Pradhan, Subrat Kumar
Dash, Ajit Kumar
Anand, Prabhat
Chandra, M. Girish
Watanabe, Kenji
Taniguchi, Takashi
Singh, Akshay
Deshpande, Veeresh
Saha, Kasturi
author_facet Bathla, Anuj
Pradhan, Subrat Kumar
Dash, Ajit Kumar
Anand, Prabhat
Chandra, M. Girish
Watanabe, Kenji
Taniguchi, Takashi
Singh, Akshay
Deshpande, Veeresh
Saha, Kasturi
contents 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~μm$ 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 ($\sim 600-900 μA$) 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.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_15355
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle In-Substrate Imaging of Diamond hBN FET Current via Widefield Quantum Diamond Microscopy
Bathla, Anuj
Pradhan, Subrat Kumar
Dash, Ajit Kumar
Anand, Prabhat
Chandra, M. Girish
Watanabe, Kenji
Taniguchi, Takashi
Singh, Akshay
Deshpande, Veeresh
Saha, Kasturi
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Quantum Physics
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~μm$ 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 ($\sim 600-900 μA$) 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.
title In-Substrate Imaging of Diamond hBN FET Current via Widefield Quantum Diamond Microscopy
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.15355