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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
Diamond is a promising semiconductor which shows some unique surface electronic features if grown optimized with low bulk and surface defect densities. The appearance of a highly conducting surface layer if immersed into electrolyte solution is maybe the most striking feature. Scanning tunneling microscopy experiments on diamond in electrolyte solutions are applied to determine the electronic properties governing these transition. These experiments reveal the formation of unoccupied quantized electronic states in the valence band close to the surface. A two-dimensional density of state distribution with three levels from light-, heavy-, and split-off-band holes is detected. Removal of the electrolyte causes a reversible transition into the insulating state and vice versa.