Three-dimensional X-ray topographic characterization of synthesized diamond crystals

Synthesized diamond crystals grown at high temperatures and high pressures were characterized by three-dimensional X-ray topography. The diffraction planes and wavelength of the monochromatic X-rays used were (004), {111}, and { 12,12,8} , and 0.0521 nm, respectively. Images of lattice defects in diamond crystals were reconstructed from a stack of about 300 X-ray limited projection topographs using the image processing software Image-J. The three-dimensional structures and nature of lattice defects were identified on the basis of the reconstructed topographs. The pyramidal shape of the four-part stacking fault generated from the seed crystal was identified using the dependence of visible or invisible defect images with diffraction planes. The sector boundary between the [001] and [111] growth directions was also first observed by three-dimensional topography. The image of the sector boundary did not show any dependence on diffraction planes.