Open AccessObservation and control of blinking nitrogen-vacancy centres in discrete nanodiamonds
Author(s) -
Carlo Bradac,
T. Gaebel,
Nishen Naidoo,
Matthew J. Sellars,
J. Twamley,
Louise J. Brown,
Amanda S. Barnard,
Taras Plakhotnik,
Andrei V. Zvyagin,
J. R. Rabeau
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
nature nanotechnology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 14.308
H-Index - 353
eISSN - 1748-3395
pISSN - 1748-3387
DOI - 10.1038/nnano.2010.56
Subject(s) - vacancy defect , diamond , materials science , detonation , nitrogen vacancy center , nanotechnology , nitrogen , luminescence , nanoscopic scale , quantum sensor , chemical physics , optoelectronics , quantum , condensed matter physics , chemistry , physics , explosive material , quantum network , quantum information , composite material , organic chemistry , quantum mechanics
Nitrogen-vacancy colour centres in diamond can undergo strong, spin-sensitive optical transitions under ambient conditions, which makes them attractive for applications in quantum optics, nanoscale magnetometry and biolabelling. Although nitrogen-vacancy centres have been observed in aggregated detonation nanodiamonds and milled nanodiamonds, they have not been observed in very small isolated nanodiamonds. Here, we report the first direct observation of nitrogen-vacancy centres in discrete 5-nm nanodiamonds at room temperature, including evidence for intermittency in the luminescence (blinking) from the nanodiamonds. We also show that it is possible to control this blinking by modifying the surface of the nanodiamonds.
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