Manufacturing method of colored diamond by ion implantation and heat treatment
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of colored diamond and, more particularly, to a manufacturing method of colored diamond by ion implantation and heat treatment. The manufacturing method comprises a first step of implanting ions to the surface of diamond by accelerating the ions under vacuum, and a second step of heat-treating the implanted diamond. By implanting ions inducing the change in the optical band gap of a diamond, the manufacturing method provides a colored diamond with relatively lower cost compared to a metal ion implantation in the prior art, and a uniform color is obtained by heat treatment. Additionally, the manufacturing method of the present invention provides a diamond having various colors with permanent color development effects, by controlling the condition of ion implantation and heat treatment.
1. A method for introducing color in a diamond comprising:
providing a diamond having a surface;
introducing color by implanting ions in a first step wherein the ions are selected from the group consisting of boron ions and nitrogen ions wherein the implantation is carried out with an ion density of 10 17 ions/cm 2 into the surface of the diamond by accelerating the ions under vacuum conditions with an implantation energy in a range of between 50˜100 keV in a single step; and
heat treating the implanted diamond at a temperature in a range of 500° C.˜650° C. under one of (a) vacuum and (b) an inert gas atmosphere for about 2 hours to produce a colored diamond.
2. A method for manufacturing a diamond of uniform color from a colorless diamond comprising:
providing a colorless diamond having a surface;
a first step of implanting ions selected from the group consisting of boron ion and nitrogen ion with an ion density of about 10 17 ions/cm 2 into the surface of a colorless diamond by accelerating the ions under vacuum conditions with implantation energy in a range of 50˜100 keV in a single step to produce a colored diamond of non-uniform color, and a second step of heat-treating the implanted diamond at the temperature in a range of 500° C.˜650° C. under one of (a) vacuum and (b) an inert gas atmosphere for about 2 hours to obtain a uniform color in the colored diamond of non-uniform color obtained in the first step.
3. The method of claims 1 or 2 wherein the heat-treating is carried out under an inert gas atmosphere, wherein the inert gas is selected from the group consisting of helium and argon.