Abstract
Diamond crystallization in Mg-R2O3-C systems (R = Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, and Yb) was studied at 7.8 GPa and 1800 °C. It was found that rare-earth oxide additives in an amount of 10 wt % did not significantly affect both the degree of graphite-to-diamond conversion and crystal morphology relative to the Mg-C system. The effect of higher amounts of rare-earth oxide additives on diamond crystallization was studied for a Mg-Sm2O3-C system with a Sm2O3 content varied from 0 to 50 wt %. It was established that with an increase in the Sm2O3 content in the growth system, the degree of graphite-to-diamond conversion decreased from 80% at 10% Sm2O3 to 0% at 40% Sm2O3. At high Sm2O3 contents (40 and 50 wt %), instead of diamond, mass crystallization of metastable graphite was established. The observed changes in the degree of the graphite-to-diamond conversion, the changeover of diamond crystallization to the crystallization of metastable graphite, and the changes in diamond crystal morphology with increasing the Sm2O3 content attested the inhibiting effect of rare-earth oxides on diamond crystallization processes in the Mg-Sm-O-C system. The crystallized diamonds were studied by a suite of optical spectroscopy techniques, and the major characteristics of their defect and impurity structures were revealed. For diamond crystals produced with 10 wt % and 20 wt % Sm2O3 additives, a specific photoluminescence signal comprising four groups of lines centered at approximately 580, 620, 670, and 725 nm was detected, which was tentatively assigned to emission characteristic of Sm3+ ions.
Highlights
The combination of unique properties of diamonds predefines the potentials for its application in various fields of science and technology, including a new direction related to quantum technologies.Particular attention has been drawn to diamond as a perfect host for various optically active defects, the most important of which is the nitrogen-vacancy (N-V) center
When 10 wt % R2 O3 was added to the system, the degree of the graphite-to-diamond conversion almost did not change and was estimated at a level of 70%–90%, indicating a slight effect of 10 wt % of rare-earth oxide additives on diamond crystallization processes
In the second series of experiments, we studied the effect of higher contents of rare-earth oxides on diamond crystallization in the Mg-R2 O3 -C system
Summary
The combination of unique properties of diamonds predefines the potentials for its application in various fields of science and technology, including a new direction related to quantum technologies.Particular attention has been drawn to diamond as a perfect host for various optically active defects, the most important of which is the nitrogen-vacancy (N-V) center. The combination of unique properties of diamonds predefines the potentials for its application in various fields of science and technology, including a new direction related to quantum technologies. In the search for new color centers promising for quantum technology applications, there has been growing interest in producing diamonds doped with rare-earth (RE) elements. It is well known that rare-earth ions have unique optical and magnetic properties and are widely used in various areas of modern technologies, including solid-state light sources, imaging, and telecommunication systems.
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