Optical and paramagnetic properties of synthetic diamond crystals irradiated with electrons and annealed

Abstract

The optical and paramagnetic properties of single crystals of synthetic diamond grown by the temperature-gradient method in high-pressure apparatuses with the systems of catalytic solvents (Co, Fe) and (Ni, Fe) are studied at room temperature. The optical absorption spectra (in the wavelength range λ = 400-800 nm) and the spectra of electron spin resonance are registered for the initial diamond crystals, the crystals irradiated with 6 MeV electrons (the fluence 1.5 × 10¹⁸ cm^-2), and the irradiated diamonds subjected to isochronous thermal annealing in vacuum (for 60 min). It is shown that, with such treatment, the diamond crystals synthesized with different metal catalysts (Co or Ni) exhibit similar optical properties, but different paramagnetic properties. The data obtained by infrared spectroscopy and electron spin resonance spectroscopy are coincident for radiation defects and different for nitrogen centers (the P1 centers and exchange-coupled pairs of nitrogen atoms). The spectra of the electron spin resonance of the samples annealed at temperatures below 1273 K (in the case of the Co-containing catalyst) and 1073 K (in the case of Ni-containing catalyst) exhibited broad lines produced by residual impurities of the catalyst metal and were accompanied by a distortion of the spectrum of paramagnetic nitrogen in the form of a tilt of the ESR spectra with respect to the zero line.