Luminescence excitation and its relation to the structures of natural crystalline diamond and diamond-like films

The luminescence excitation spectra (LES) of natural crystalline diamond and amorphous diamond-like films are measured at energies from 4 to 20 eV at the LOCUS station for luminescence and optical studies of the Kurchatov Institute synchrotron radiation source. Two sharp peaks at 5.5 and 10.5 eV are observed in the LES of diamond, while the LES of the film demonstrate only one peak at 10.5 eV. For crystalline diamond, the peaks can be explained within the framework of the diamond band structure and the processes of inelastic scattering of photoexcited holes. Dark-field electron microscope images of the diamond-like film show that, in spite of its amorphous structure, this film contains regions of coherent electron scattering whose dimensions are on the order of 2–5 nm, which is sufficient to describe the film LES using a model for crystalline diamond. The absence of the first peak in the film LES is related to the fact that the absorption coefficient of diamond is very small at 5.5 eV and radiation is only slightly absorbed by the thin film.