The De Beers Laboratory for Diamond Research was established with the help of generous donations by De Beers Canada. It is located on the 3rd floor of the Earth Sciences Building (ESB 3-01C and D).

The lab is well equipped for the preparation and study of mantle xenoliths, diamonds, and their inclusions, containing an FTIR spectrometer, various binocular and petrographic microscopes, as well as all equipment necessary for the crushing of diamonds, and mounting and polishing of their microscopic mineral inclusions.

Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy

Our micro-FTIR system is mainly used to determine the concentration and the aggregation state of nitrogen impurities in diamonds. Other applications include the content and speciation of hydrogen in nominally anhydrous minerals or studies on the origin of baltic amber.

Our Thermo Scientific (Nicolet) iN10 MX Infrared Microscope features ultra-fast mapping, a dual detector system (a high sensitivity LN2-cooled MCTA detector and room temperature DTGS detector), and a high precision motorized stage. Direct contact sampling at high spatial resolution is possible through a slide-on Ge micro-tip ATR.