Abstract

A variety of transition metal (TM) centres are used as solvent catalysts during the growth of high pressure, high temperature synthetic diamond, and have been observed incorporated within the lattice by EPR and optical methods. They affect the aggregation of nitrogen, the dominant impurity in most diamonds, and have potential application as photochromic centres. Here the optical behaviour of high symmetry TM centres under uniaxial stress is examined and we show how the inclusion of spin-orbit coupling is essential to characterise them. © 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.