Effects of low-energy electron irradiation on formation of nitrogen–vacancy centers in single-crystal diamond

Exposure to beams of low-energy electrons (2–30 keV) in a scanning electron microscope locally induces formation of NV-centers without thermal annealing in diamonds that have been implanted with nitrogen ions. We find that non-thermal, electron-beam-induced NV-formation is about four times less efficient than thermal annealing. But NV-center formation in a consecutive thermal annealing step (800 °C) following exposure to low-energy electrons increases by a factor of up to 1.8 compared to thermal annealing alone. These observations point to reconstruction of nitrogen–vacancy complexes induced by electronic excitations from low-energy electrons as an NV-center formation mechanism and identify local electronic excitations as a means for spatially controlled room-temperature NV-center formation.