Quantification of Hydrogen in Natural Diamond by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS)

The volumetric concentration of hydrogen in two Brazilian diamonds is determined using secondary ion mass spectrometry and implantation of hydrogen into an external standard sample (with a dose of 1 × 16 at/cm2 and energy of 120 KeV). The diamonds studied differ noticeably in their intensities of IR-active hydrogen from 0 to 1.5 cm–1 according to the analyses of their IR spectra. The results demonstrate that for both samples studied, the volumetric concentration of hydrogen does not exceed the reached detectable level of (1–2) × 1018 at/cm3 or 1.7–3.3 at. ppm; i.e., it is lower by an order of magnitude than in the early chemical analysis and by 2–3 orders of magnitude lower than the results of the ion-beam spectrochemical, nuclear-physical, and ERDA analyses. Only a part of the hydrogen forms optically active impurities in diamond crystals and can be determined by spectral methods.