Nickel-Silicon Related Color Center Formed in Nanodiamond Grains under CVD Growth

Sára Tóth,Margit Koós,László Himics

doi:10.1155/2015/282967

Sára Tóth, Margit Koós + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/282967

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Abstract

Formation of optical centers in nanodiamond grains with narrow, near-infrared emission at room temperature is one of the most important challenges nowadays. Our aim was to form a metal-related color center through the CVD growth process of nanodiamond. Previously undocumented photoluminescence (PL) system with 865 nm zero-phonon line (ZPL) and 2 nm full width at half maximum (FWHM) was successfully created in nanodiamond grains. According to the detailed analysis of the spectral features of the ZPL and quasilocal modes of the vibronic sideband, a complex center containing Ni and Si atoms could be accounted for these PL features. The inclusion of Ni and Si impurity atoms in the complex optical center was strengthened by micro-Raman spectroscopy performed in the frequency range due to quasilocal vibrations of the vibronic sideband.

Highlights

In the last decades, production of highly luminescent color centers in nanometer sized diamond is one of the most interesting research fields due to the unique properties of nanocrystalline diamond, like biocompatibility, chemical stability, and inertness
The highly intensive narrow-bandwidth luminescence at 865 nm with 2 nm (3 meV) full width at half maximum (FWHM) possesses a vibronic sideband of very low intensity. Both of the narrow-bandwidth zero-phonon line (ZPL) and the vibronic sideband feature correspond to a weak electron-vibration coupling at the optical center
Some scattering of the ZPL position (∼1 nm) has been observed in different nanodiamond grains, the majority of the measured color centers emit at 865 nm ZPL position

Summary

Introduction

Production of highly luminescent color centers in nanometer sized diamond is one of the most interesting research fields due to the unique properties of nanocrystalline diamond, like biocompatibility, chemical stability, and inertness. It is well known that emission of color centers related to different impurities within the diamond crystal lattice covers the spectral range from deep ultraviolet to far infrared. Nickel-related centers gained much attention as one-photon emitters with high saturation counting rate in the near infrared region. In low nitrogen content diamond, the most common nickel-related center has PL doublet around 883/885 nm [5, 6], which is in connection with ground state splitting caused by the spin orbital interaction. CVD growth of diamond films has demonstrated production of a wide range of nickel-, silicon-, and nitrogen-related defects as one-photon emitters [13, 14]

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