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At least 541 records · Page 30

Imaging crystal stress in diamond using ensembles of nitrogen-vacancy centers

We present a micrometer-resolution and millimeter-field-of-view stress imaging method for diamonds containing a thin surface layer of nitrogen vacancy (NV) color centers. In this method, we reconstruct stress tensor elements over a two-dimensional field of view from NV optically-detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) spectra. We use this technique to study how stress inhomogeneity affects NV magnetometry performance, and show how NV stress imaging is a useful and direct way to assess these effects. This new tool for mapping stress in diamond will aid optimization of NV-diamond sensing, with wide-ranging applications in the physical and life sciences.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Pulse-resolved intensity measurements at a hard X-ray FEL using semi-transparent diamond detectors

Solid-state ionization chambers are presented based on thin diamond crystals that allow pulse-resolved intensity measurements at a hard X-ray free-electron laser (FEL), up to the 4.5 MHz repetition rate that will become available at the European XFEL. Due to the small X-ray absorption of diamond the thin detectors are semi-transparent which eases their use as non-invasive monitoring devices in the beam. FELs are characterized by strong pulse-to-pulse intensity fluctuations due to the self-amplified spontaneous emission (SASE) process and in many experiments it is mandatory to monitor the intensity of each individual pulse. Two diamond detectors with different electrode materials, beryllium and graphite, were tested as intensity monitors at the XCS endstation of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) using the pink SASE beam at 9 keV. The performance is compared with LCLS standard monitors that detect X-rays backscattered from thin SiN foils placed in the beam. In conclusion, the graphite detector can also be used as a beam position monitor although with rather coarse resolution.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Test of a prototype neutron spectrometer based on diamond detectors in a fast reactor

A prototype of neutron spectrometer based on diamond detectors has been developed. This prototype consists of a {sup 6}Li neutron converter sandwiched between two CVD diamond crystals. The radiation hardness of the diamond crystals makes it suitable for applications in low power research reactors, while a low sensitivity to gamma rays and low leakage current of the detector permit to reach good energy resolution. A fast coincidence between two crystals is used to reject background. The detector was read out using two different electronic chains connected to it by a few meters of cable. The first chain was based on conventional charge-sensitive amplifiers, the other used a custom fast charge amplifier developed for this purpose. The prototype has been tested at various neutron sources and showed its practicability. In particular, the detector was calibrated in a TRIGA thermal reactor (LENA laboratory, University of Pavia) with neutron fluxes of 10{sup 8} n/cm{sup 2}s and at the 3 MeV D-D monochromatic neutron source named FNG (ENEA, Rome) with neutron fluxes of 10{sup 6} n/cm{sup 2}s. The neutron spectrum measurement was performed at the TAPIRO fast research reactor (ENEA, Casaccia) with fluxes of 10{sup 9} n/cm{sup 2}s. The obtained spectra were compared to Monte Carlo simulations, modeling detector response with MCNP and Geant4. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

High Current Density Diamond Photoconductive Semiconductor Switches With a Buried, Metallic Conductive Channel

Laterally configured diamond photoconductive semiconductor switches (PCSS) with a buried, metallic p+ current channel are reported. Above bandgap ( λ ≤ 226 nm) optical triggering enables responsivity of over 130 mA/W. The use of low-impurity semi-insulating diamond as an active absorption layer enables fast rise and fall times (~2 ns) and on/off ratios greater than 10 11 . The PCSS excited with a laser energy of 20 nJ per pulse passes a high current density (44 A/cm) under a DC bias of 60 V, thanks to the buried metallic p+ current channel. The reported devices promise high current carrying capacity without the need for filamenting while leveraging the excellent optical, electronic, and thermal properties of diamond.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Analyses of Diamond Wire Sawn Wafers: Effect of Various Cutting Parameters

We have evaluated surface characteristics of diamond wire cut (DWC) wafers sawn under a variety of cutting parameters. These characteristics include surface roughness, spatial frequencies of surface profiles, phase changes, damage depth, and lateral non-uniformities in the surface damage. Various cutting parameters investigated are: wire size, diamond grit size, reciprocating frequency, feed rate, and wire usage. Spatial frequency components of surface topography/roughness are influenced by individual cutting parameters as manifested by distinct peaks in the Fourier transforms of the Dektak profiles. The depth of damage is strongly controlled by diamond grit size and wire usage and to a smaller degree by the wire size.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

SU-F-T-178: Optimized Design of a Diamond Detector Specifically Dedicated to the Dose Distribution Measurements in Clinical Proton Pencil Beams

Purpose: In proton-therapy, pencil beam scanning (PBS) dosimetry presents a real challenge due to the small size of the beam (about 3 to 8 mm in FWHM), the pulsed high dose rate (up to 100 Gy/s) and the proton energy variation (about 30 MeV to 250 MeV). In the framework of French INSERM DEDIPRO project, a specifically dedicated single crystal diamond dosimeter (SCDDo) was developed with the objective of obtaining accurate measurements of the dose distribution in PBS modality. Methods: Monte Carlo simulations with MCNPX were performed. A small proton beam of 5 mm in FWHM was simulated as well as diamond devices with various size, thickness and holder composition. The calculated doses-to-diamond were compared with the doses-to-water in order to reduce the perturbation effects. Monte-Carlo simulations lead to an optimized SCDDo design for small proton beams dosimetry. Following the optimized design, SCDDos were mounted in water-equivalent holders with electrical connection adapted to standard electrometer. First, SCDDos performances (stability, repeatability, signal-to-background ratio…) were evaluated with conventional photon beams. Then, characterizations (dose linearity, dose rate dependence…) with wide proton beams were performed at proton-therapy center (IC-CPO) from Curie Institute (France) with the passive proton delivery technique, in order to confirm dosimetric requirements. Finally, depth-dose distributions were measured in a water tank, for native and modulated Bragg Peaks with the collimator of 12 cm, and compared to a commercial PPC05 parallel-plate ionization chamber reference detector. Lateral-dose profiles were also measured with the collimator of 5 mm, and compared to a commercial SFD diode. Results: The results show that SCDDo design does not disturb the dose distributions. Conclusion: The experimental dose distributions with the SCDDo are in good agreement with the commercial detectors and no energy dependence was observed with this device configuration.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

Calculation of the Physicochemical Characteristics of a New Orthorhombic Form of Diamond

A geometrically optimized structure and some properties of a new diamond polymorph have been assessed using density-functional theory calculations in the local-density approximation. The new phase has a primitive orthorhombic lattice (Pmma). The calculation results indicate that the density, sublimation energy, bulk modulus, Vickers hardness, and band gap of this phase are lower than those of cubic diamond by 5–18%. The orthorhombic diamond polymorph can be obtained by compressing graphite in the [001] direction at a pressure of 59.4 GPa. For this phase transition, we calculated theoretical X-ray diffraction patterns of the new phase and intermediate states, which can be used for their identification in experiments.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

X-ray diffraction characterization of epitaxial CVD diamond films with natural and isotopically modified compositions

Comparative investigations of homoepitaxial diamond films with natural and modified isotopic compositions, grown by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on type-Ib diamond substrates, are carried out using double-crystal X-ray diffractometry and topography. The lattice mismatch between the substrate and film is precisely measured. A decrease in the lattice constant on the order of (Δa/a){sub relax} ∼ (1.1–1.2) × 10{sup –4} is recorded in isotopically modified {sup 13}C (99.96%) films. The critical thicknesses of pseudomorphic diamond films is calculated. A significant increase in the dislocation density due to the elastic stress relaxation is revealed by X-ray topography.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Study of the Structural and Morphological Properties of HPHT Diamond Substrates

The morphological and structural properties of a series of high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) single-crystal diamond substrates are comprehensively studied by white-light optical interference microscopy, atomic-force microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analysis. Procedures that provide a means for characterizing the substrate parameters most critical for epitaxial application with the laboratory equipment are described. It is shown that the jewelry-type characterization of diamond substrates is insufficient to assess the possibility of their use for the epitaxial growth of chemical-vapor-deposited (CVD) diamond.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Evolution of Triplet Paramagnetic Centers in Diamonds Obtained by Sintering of Detonation Nanodiamonds at High Pressure and Temperature

The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra of triplet centers in detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs) and diamond single crystals of submicrometer size, synthesized from those DNDs at high pressures and temperatures, are studied. In the EPR spectra of DNDs, signals from negatively charged nitrogen- vacancy centers (NV)/sup(-) with a g factor of g{sub 1} = 4.24 and multivacancies with g{sub 2} = 4.00 are observed. The signals from (NV)/sup(-) centers disappear in the spectra of diamond single crystals, and a quintet signal with g = 4.00 is detected at the position of the signal from multivacancies. Analysis of the shape and position of the quintet’ lines showed that this ESR signal is due to the pairs of nitrogen substitution centers in diamond, separated from each other by distances not exceeding 0.7 nm, between which a strong exchange interaction takes place. A comparison of the experimental data and the simulation results allows determining the spin-Hamiltonian parameters of the exchange-coupled pairs of paramagnetic impurity nitrogen atoms.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Ion Modification of the Field-Emission Properties of Diamond-Graphite Film Structures

The patterns of variation of structure-phase, morphological, and field-emission parameters of nanocomposite diamond-graphite film structures, which were synthesized in microwave plasma of ethanol vapors, with the dose of irradiation with nitrogen ions with an energy of 20 keV are studied. It is found that the morphological parameters of diamond-graphite structures subjected to small-dose irradiation differ only slightly from those of nonirradiated samples. In contrast, the field-emission properties of irradiated samples are altered significantly. The maximum density of field-emission currents increases when the field-emission excitation thresholds are raised. The optimum doses of nitrogen ion implantation resulting in a more than fivefold increase (relative to nonirradiated structures) in the maximum density of field-emission currents are determined. The physical and chemical mechanisms involved in the modification of surface and near-surface properties of diamond-graphite structures subjected to various doses of ion irradiation are examined.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Influence of Cobalt on the Adhesion Strength of Polycrystalline Diamond Coatings on WC–Co Hard Alloys

The influence of cobalt on the phase composition and adhesion strength of polycrystalline diamond coatings has been studied using scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray microanalysis. The coatings have been deposited on WC–Co hard alloy substrates in glow discharge plasma. It has been found that the catalytic amorphization of carbon only takes place during the direct synthesis of the diamond coating, when the cobalt vapor pressure over the substrate is high and the cobalt-related degradation of the synthesized diamond is absent.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

On a Possibility of the Overgrowth of Diamonds in the Hydrocarbon Atmosphere

The possibility to increase sizes of diamond crystals at least 25 μm by means of their annealing at a temperature of 1450 K in a hydrocarbon atmosphere has been studied. The initial diamond crystals are incorporated in the polyvinyl acetate layer on the surface of a silicon monocrystal and subjected to the annealing in methane atmosphere with low pressure in the presence of an external electric field with intensity up to 0.04 V/μm. Under these conditions the charged ions of methane dissociation products are accelerated and acquire the kinetic energy that is comparable with energy sufficient to form sp{sup 3}-hybride bonds, which can lead to an increase in the sizes of initial seed crystallites. The obtained substrates of a composite with a typical thickness not higher than 1.2 mm, which contain a joined diamond crystal in the carbon matrix, can be used as thermal conductive and electrical insulating spacers in devices for cooling items of electronic engineering.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Simulation of a Detector of Visible and Near-IR Electromagnetic Radiation Based on Artificial Diamond

A method for calculation of the I–V characteristic is proposed for a detector of visible and near-IR electromagnetic radiation based on artificial diamond with allowance for vertical flow of electric current. The method can be used when the free-path length of carriers in diamond is less than the scale of variations in the concentration of carriers. The method is used to determine the following detector characteristics: the dependence of current on voltage, distribution of carrier concentration, and electric potential for a particular variant of a photodetector based on polycrystalline diamond film consisting of nanosized single crystals doped with boron.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

A CVD Diamond-Based Photodetector for the Visible and Near-IR Spectral Range

A photodetector for the visible and near-IR spectral range has been created on the basis of a chemical- vapor-deposited diamond modulation-doped with boron. The detected electromagnetic radiation is absorbed in a thin Cr (7 nm)–Au (5.5 nm) bimetallic sublayer deposited on the surface of a modulationdoped diamond film comprising a highly doped (up to 5 × 10{sup 19} cm{sup –3}) 3-nm-thick delta-layer, low-doped (~10{sup 17} cm{sup –3}) 800-nm-thick sublayer, and highly doped (10{sup 20} cm{sup –3}) ~10-μm-thick sublayer with an ohmic Ti(50 nm)/Pt(15 nm)/Au(30 nm) contact. Holes generated in the bimetallic sublayer diffuse into diamond and are accelerated by an electric field in the low-doped sublayer to form a response photocurrent. The ampere/watt responsivity of the photodetector reaches 1 μA/W at a radiation wavelength of 445 nm and 0.18 μA/W at 1.06 μm.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

New Cluster Secondary Ions for Quantitative Analysis of the Concentration of Boron Atoms in Diamond by Time-of-Flight Secondary-Ion Mass Spectrometry

A new approach to quantitative analysis of the concentration of boron atoms in diamond using secondary- ion mass spectrometers with time-of-flight mass analyzers is proposed. Along with the known boron-containing lines (B, BC, BC{sub 2}), many lines related to cluster secondary ions BC{sub N} have been found in the mass spectrum; their intensity increases by one or two orders of magnitude when Bi{sub 3} probe ions are used. Lines BC{sub 4}, BC{sub 6}, BC{sub 2}, and BC{sub 8} have the highest intensity (in the descending order); when they are summed, the sensitivity increases by an order of magnitude in comparison with the known mode of detecting BC{sub 2}. The parameters of the boron δ-layer in single-crystal diamond films grown under optimal conditions have been measured to be unprecedented: the δ-layer width is about 2 nm, and the concentration is 6.4 × 10{sup 20} cm{sup –3} (the boron concentrations for doped and undoped diamonds differ by four orders of magnitude).

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Frictional Coefficients between Aluminum–Silicon Alloy and Cutting Inserts with MPCVD Diamond Coatings

The frictional coefficients at the front and rear surfaces of a VK6 hard-alloy cutter with experimental nano- and microcrystalline CVD diamond coatings applied in microwave plasma are determined by extrapolation to zero cut-layer thickness. It is found that, for diamond coatings with a single microcrystalline layer and those with both a microcrystalline layer and a nanocrystalline layer, the frictional coefficients are less than for an uncoated hard-alloy cutter and also for a cutter with a Sandvik diamond coating.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Undulatory Diamond Smoothing of Machine-Part Surfaces

The use of an industrial robot for undulatory diamond smoothing of machine-part surfaces is considered. The design of a robot for diamond smoothing of cylindrical and complex surfaces is described, and an example of an automatic machining line that includes a two-column industrial robot for undulatory smoothing is presented. In tests, the wear resistance of samples subjected to diamond smoothing on a lathe and to undulatory smoothing is compared.

42 ENGINEERING↗