A 300keV transmission electron microscope was used to create carefully controlled radiation damage in the specimens. Irradiation could be performed, over areas with a diameter of 50µm, within a few minutes while using any chosen temperature, dose, orientation or voltage. Subsequent annealing could be performed in situ before detailed investigation using low-temperature photoluminescence microscopy. The results furnished strong evidence for the creation of self-interstitials and of complexes; which they formed with impurities or dopants in the given material.

Creation and Mobility of Self-Interstitials in Diamond by the use of Transmission Electron Microscopy, and their Subsequent Study by Photoluminescence Microscopy. J.W.Steeds, S.Charles, T.J.Davis, A.Gilmore, J.Hayes, D.Pickard, J.E.Butler: Diamond and Related Materials, 1999, 8[1], 94-100