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.