Size-reduction of nanodiamonds via air oxidation

Here we report the size reduction and effects on nitrogen-vacancy centres in nanodiamonds by air oxidation using a combined atomic force and confocal microscope. The average height reduction of individual crystals as measured by atomic force microscopy was 10.6 nm/h at 600 {\deg}C air oxidation at a...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors Gaebel, T, Bradac, C, Chen, J, Hemmer, P, Rabeau, J. R
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 27.04.2011
Subjects
Physics - Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Physics - Quantum Physics
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Summary:Here we report the size reduction and effects on nitrogen-vacancy centres in nanodiamonds by air oxidation using a combined atomic force and confocal microscope. The average height reduction of individual crystals as measured by atomic force microscopy was 10.6 nm/h at 600 {\deg}C air oxidation at atmospheric pressure. The oxidation process modified the surface including removal of non-diamond carbon and organic material which also led to a decrease in background fluorescence. During the course of the nanodiamond size reduction, we observed the annihilation of nitrogen-vacancy centres which provided important insight into the formation of colour centres in small crystals. In these unirradiated samples, the smallest nanodiamond still hosting a stable nitrogen-vacancy centre observed was 8 nm.
DOI:10.48550/arxiv.1104.5075