Spectroscopic features of electron-irradiated diamond crystals from the Mir kimberlite pipe, Yakutia

Abstract

The behavior of characteristic centers in diamond crystals from the Mir pipe (Yakutia) was investigated upon electron irradiation. A series of diamond crystals of different types was chosen for experiments based on the nitrogen content and aggregation parameters. In electron-irradiated diamonds of the IaAB type, a new characteristic photoluminescence system was found with a zero-phonon line (ZPL) at 615 nm together with phonon replicas of 41 and 90 meV. The phonons' energies pointed to multiphonon interactions with a quasilocal vibration of a vacancy. According to our data, the nitrogen-related defect responsible for this phenomenon contains a vacancy and may be accompanied by some other impurity. Conversely, in an almost nitrogen-free crystal, a specific system with the ZPL at 558 nm was noted. The center in question is known to be vacancy-related and was formed in type IIa crystals from the Mir pipe not only by electron irradiation but also by high-pressure high-temperature annealing when vacancies were released as a result of motion or annihilation of dislocations. Regardless of the nitrogen impurity, specific systems with the ZPL at 454, 491, and 492 nm were registered in the irradiated diamond crystals from the Mir pipe. To examine the generated defects, the irradiated diamond crystals were subjected to low-temperature annealing at ≤600 °C. Although the 454 and 491 nm systems persisted, the annealing of the 492 nm system along with well-known 523.6, 489.0, and 503.4 nm (3H) centers indicated the interstitial-vacancy nature of the defect.