We investigated relaxation of free charge carriers in pure crystalline diamond exposed to VUV irradiation of high order harmonics of femtosecond Ti:Sa laser in the spectral range 17-32 eV. Electron-hole pairs, possessing a significant kinetic energy, are generated in the material via direct interband transitions, relaxation of which is monitored by means of induced conductivity in the bulk and photoemission from the surface of the material. The experimental data provided by these c omplementary techniques are compared and discussed in terms of the competition between ionization and conductivity looking for evidences of multiplication of free charge carriers due to impact ionizatio
