High pressure, high temperature molecular doping of nanodiamond

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel high-pressure, high-temperature method to dope nanodiamond with color centers without ion implantation, enabling new quantum and optical applications.

Contribution

It presents a versatile bottom-up doping technique using a doped amorphous carbon precursor transformed under high pressure and temperature, allowing controlled defect creation in nanodiamond.

Findings

Successfully created silicon-vacancy defects in nanodiamond.

Generated noble gas defects from argon medium, explaining experimental hysteresis.

Potential for controlled designer defect generation in diamond.

Abstract

The development of color centers in diamond as the basis for emerging quantum technologies has been limited by the need for ion implantation to create the appropriate defects. We present a versatile method to dope diamond without ion implantation, by synthesis of a doped amorphous carbon precursor and transformation at high temperatures and high pressures. To explore this bottom-up method for color center generation, we rationally create silicon-vacancy defects in nanodiamond and investigate them for optical pressure metrology. In addition, we show that this process can generate noble gas defects within diamond from the typically-inactive argon pressure medium, which may explain the hysteresis effects observed in other high pressure experiments and the presence of noble gases in some meteoritic nanodiamonds. Our results illustrate a general method to produce color centers in diamond, and may enable the controlled generation of designer defects.