Towards high-quality nitrogen-doped diamond single crystals for X-ray optics

In this manuscript, characterization of single-crystalline (111) plates prepared from type-Ib diamonds with a nitrogen content of 100-150 ppm by means of high-resolution rocking-curve imaging (RCI) is reported. Contrary to common opinion regarding the intrinsically poor diffraction quality of type-I diamonds, RCI showed the presence of nearly defect-free areas of several millimetres squared in the central part of the diamond plates. The observed broadening of the rocking curves is a result of the cutting and polishing processes, causing strains around the edges of the plates and rare defects. An improvement of the preparation technique will thus allow single-crystalline diamond plates to be made for Laue and Bragg monochromators and beam splitters from type-Ib material with areas large enough to be used as optical elements at fourth-generation synchrotron facilities.