This work discusses the current situation in the study of bulk
defects in diamond, grown by chemical vapour deposition (CVD),
using optical absorption, luminescence, and electron spin
resonance techniques. CVD diamond appears distinct from other
types of diamond in that it exhibits significant concentrations
of bulk defects involving hydrogen, silicon, and possibly
tungsten impurities. Importantly, as regards doping, p-type
conductivity up to the degeneracy level can be achieved by
boron incorporation, while n-type conductivity can be realized
by phosphorus doping. A generally observed trend is cross
fertilization between the studies of various types of diamond:
the knowledge of the properties of intrinsic and
irradiation-induced defects, obtained from extensive studies of
natural and high-pressure synthetic diamond crystals, helps in
understanding the presence of certain radiation-damage-related
centres in as-grown CVD films. In return, some achievements
from the study of defect centres in CVD diamond may provide
useful information for modelling of defects in crystalline
diamond and other semiconducting materials.