High-pressure synthesis and characterization of Sn-doped single crystal diamond

Development of new routes for fabrication of diamond containing color centers with specific optical and magnetic properties is important for its employment in many innovative applications such as the emerging quantum technologies. Here we report a systematic study on the high-pressure synthesis of diamond from various tin-containing systems aimed at establishing growth conditions favorable for the incorporation of Sn atoms in crystallized diamonds with the formation of the tin-vacancy (Sn-V) color centers. Synthesis experiments are performed at 6.3-7.5 GPa and 1400-1900 degrees C using solvent-catalysts of three different types: Fe-Sn-Al, Sn-(Ti, Al, Zr) and Sn-Mg. We established the main features of diamond crystallization from these catalysts and determined photoluminescence characteristics of the synthesized diamonds. It is found that over the range of the P-T conditions and catalyst compositions employed in the study, the Sn-Mg-C system is a most effective medium for growing Sn-doped single crystal diamond. We show that with the approach developed in the study it is possible to fabricate diamond single crystals with sizes from similar to 50 mu m to similar to 1mm containing high-quality Sn-V color centers with narrow zero-phonon lines. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.