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Lattice location of ion-implanted He6 in diamond

U. Wahl1,*, J. G. Correia1, A. Costa1, B. Biesmans2, G. Magchiels2, S. M. Tunhuma2, A. Lamelas3, A. Vantomme2, and L. M. C. Pereira2

  • 1Centro de Ciências e Tecnologias Nucleares, Departamento de Engenharia e Ciências Nucleares, Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, 2695-066 Bobadela LRS, Portugal
  • 2KU Leuven, Quantum Solid State Physics, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
  • 3Departamento de Física and CICECO- Instituto de Materiais de Aveiro, Universidade de Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal

  • *Contact author: uwahl@ctn.tecnico.ulisboa.pt
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Phys. Rev. B 114, 194105 – Published 9 October, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/1286-zbbb

Abstract

The properties of He in diamond are of interest with respect to geological dating and the creation of color centers with possible quantum applications. We report on the lattice location of the short-lived ion-implanted nuclear probe He6 (t1/2=807ms) in diamond, which was performed using the beta emission channeling method at CERN's ISOLDE facility. He6 was implanted with 30 keV into a single-crystalline chemical-vapor deposited diamond sample kept at a temperature ranging from 30 °C up to 800 °C. By means of comparing the measured emission channeling patterns along different crystallographic directions with simulated yields for a variety of possible sites, we conclude that the implanted He6 occupies tetrahedral (T) interstitial sites, in agreement with theoretical predictions that T sites should be the preferred position of He in diamond. Implantation at 800 °C resulted in a drop in the tetrahedral interstitial fraction by ∼18%, which we interpret as the onset of diffusion, He6 thus being able to change to lattice sites of low crystallographic symmetry, or reach the surface of the sample or escape to the bulk during its lifetime. We estimate the activation energy for interstitial migration of He to be around 1.63–2.89 eV, which agrees with theoretical predictions of 1.41–2.36 eV from the literature. Activation energies around 2 eV would mean that simple interstitial He cannot be stable in diamond on geological time scales, thus to remain inside, it should be bound to some defect in the material or exist in another form such as within inclusions of other minerals or liquids, or possibly small He bubbles.

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Phys. Rev. B 114, 194105– Published 9 October, 2026
  • Received 8 April 2026
  • Revised 5 July 2026
  • Accepted 7 August 2026
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