EPR of new phosphorus-containing centers in synthetic diamonds

The effect is studied of electron and X-ray irradiation on phosphorous centers in synthetic diamonds grown in the P-C medium by the Bars technology. After exposure to X-ray irradiation, a new paramagnetic phosphorus-containing center NP6, in addition to the phosphorous centers NP4 and NP5, is observed in diamonds annealed at a temperature of 2300°C and pressure of 7.5 GPa. The spectrum of NP6 is simulated to give the following parameters: A ₁ = 29.42 G, A ₂ = 23.28 G, A ₃ = 75.85 G, g ₁ = 2.00085, g ₂ = 2.00083, and g ₃ = 2.00083. The NP4-NP6 centers are assumed to be genetically related to the three nitrogenphosphorous centers NP1-NP3 and be formed as a result of the transformation of the tetrahedral environment around the phosphorous atom into an octahedral environment at an annealing temperature of 2300°C. The synthetic diamonds annealed at 2300°C were successively exposed to irradiation with electrons with energies of 3.5 MeV (5×10¹⁷ e/cm²) and annealing at temperatures of 500°C and 700°C. The EPR method is used to find that annealing of the electron-irradiated crystals at 700°C leads to the formation of a new paramagnetic center with spin S = 1 and hyperfine structure (HFS) from one phosphorus atom with the parameters: g = 2.0012, D = 19.7 G, and A(P) = 3.6 G. The center is likely to have an eightvacancy chain structure with a phosphorus atom located at the center.