Photoluminescence of SiV centers in CVD diamond particles with specific crystallographic planes.

We prepared the isolated micrometer-sized diamond particles without seeding on the substrate in hot filament chemical vapor deposition. The diamond particles with specific crystallographic planes and strong silicon-vacancy (SiV) photoluminescence (PL) have been prepared by adjusting the growth pressure. As the growth pressure increases from 2.5 to 3.5 kPa, the diamond particles transit from composite planes of {100} and {111} to only smooth {111} planes. The {111}-faceted diamond particles present better crystal quality and stronger normalized intensity of SiV PL with a narrower bandwidth of 5 nm. Raman depth profiles show that the SiV centers are more likely to be formed on the near-surface areas of the diamond particles, which have poorer crystal quality and greater lattice stress than the inner areas. Complex lattice stress environment in the near-surface areas broadens the bandwidth of SiV PL peak. These results provide a feasible method to prepare diamond particles with specific crystallographic planes and stronger SiV PL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]