Diamond is a ”wide bandgap” semiconductor : eG=5.4 eV, five times larger than that of silicon. It is considered as the ultimate material for fast, high voltage and high power electronics. Metal/diamond Schottky diodes and metal/insulator/Semiconductor (moS) structures can now be fabricated in epitaxial diamond films grown on bulk diamond crystals. However, the device performance can be limited by defects or unwanted impurities located inside the diamond active layer. using extremely sensitive electrical measure- ment techniques, we have now identified the principle defects restricting the flow of hole carriers in p-type diamond films, and we have investigated new growth techniques for eliminating them. Full text