Trapping of vacancies by defects in diamond

Optical absorption measurements were performed on irradiated diamonds conta ining different concentrations of nitrogen defects. Analysis of the results suggests that the single substitutional nitrogen centres trap vacancies ab out eight times more efficiently than the substitutional nitrogen pairs. In irradiated diamond crystals with a low impurity content, as well as in syn thetic diamond films, an undocumented IR spectrum is observed and ascribed to intrinsic defects.