High resolution boron content profilometry at δ-doping epitaxial diamond interfaces by CTEM

•Boron content of δ-doped diamond layers are calculated by TEM.•Howie-Whelan equation is used to relate the TEM contrast with the boron content.•An iterative procedure is used to solve Howie-Whelan equation with two variables.•Lamella thickness and boron content are calculated from TEM contrast.•TEM boron content quantification agrees with that measured by SIMS. Ultimate spatial resolution in boron δ-doped homoepitaxial diamond interfaces has been achieved by diffraction contrast technique in Transmission Electron Microscopy. The combination of two reflections with the Howie-Whelan equations allows profiling the boron content of δ-doped diamond homoepitaxial layers by fitting experimentally measured CTEM intensities with the theoretical ones. To validate the method, the obtained doping profiles are compared with that of secondary ion mass spectrometry, obtaining a boron concentration of 1.6·1021 at/cm−3, which is in good agreement with that of SIMS. This approach is capable to perform dopant concentration quantification in a non-destructive way, and provides the possibility of nanometric resolution dopant concentration mapping by TEM.