Photoluminescence of SiV centers in single crystal CVD diamond in situ doped with Si from silane

Homoepitaxial single crystal diamond layers with bright photoluminescence (PL) of silicon-vacancy (SiV) color centers at 738 nm wavelength have been grown on (100) diamond substrates by a microwave plasma CVD using a controlled Si doping via adding silane to CH4H2 reaction gas mixture in the course of the deposition process. In the range of the silane concentrations SiH4/CH4 explored, from 0 to 2.4%, the SiV PL intensity shows a nonmonotonic behavior with silane addition, with a maximum at 0.6%SiH4/CH4, and a rapid PL quenching at higher Si doping. The maximum SiV concentration of ≈450 ppb in the samples has been determined from optical absorption spectra. It is found that the SiV PL intensity can strongly, an order of magnitude, increase within non-epitaxial inclusions in single crystal diamond film. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim