The near surface damage and recovery of low nitrogen diamond implanted with MeV phosphorus ions

[Display omitted] •MeV Phosphorus ion implantation (1015 ions/cm2) induced moderate damage to diamond lattice without graphitization.•The simulated vacancy concentration in SRIM is significantly below the graphitization threshold, consistent with experimental observations.•Validation of simulated internal defects via Raman and PLspectra post-annealing at 400 °C: PL spectra confirmed GR1 centers' presence.•Significantly recovers damage after 900 °C annealing, as evidenced by GR1 center disappearance and enhanced NV center characteristics. The purpose of this work is to provide a novel perspective for investigating the damage of diamond surfaces implanted by MeV phosphorus (P) ions and recovery of the surfaces after high-temperature annealing. SRIM simulation and low-temperature luminescence spectroscopy were performed to analyze the properties of the samples comprehensively. The results revealed that a certain degree of diamond lattice damage was caused without graphitization by the irradiation of 1 MeV P ions with a fluence value of 1015 ions/cm2. The SRIM simulation revealed that the ions that were implanted into the lattice collided with carbon atoms. These ions stopped at a depth of approximately 0.55 μm and generated intrinsic diamond defects on the diamond near the surface. The simulated defects were confirmed by the appearance of neutral single vacancy (GR1) centers in the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum after annealing at 400 °C. In addition, the annealing behavior of optical centers at 900 °C indicated significant damage recovery, including the disappearance of GR1 centers, combined with the increased intensity, slightly blue-shifted peak position, and narrowed FWHM of the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center.