Fluorescence spectra of nanodiamonds synthesized at high pressure from adamantane and other organic compounds show narrow (≈1 nm) lines of unknown origin over the spectroscopic range from ≈500 to 800 nm. The study proposes and experimentally confirms the hypothesis that these lines are related to radiative recombination of donor–acceptor pairs (DAP). According to the experimental data, these pairs can be formed from donor‐like substitutional nitrogen present in the diamond lattice and 2D acceptor layer resulting from the effect of transfer doping on the nanodiamond surface. A peculiar behavior of the narrow lines is identified within the temperature range of 100–10 K: their energy position slightly shifts downward, and the majority of the lines divide into two or more components as the temperature decreases. The lines are shown to be predominantly associated with single photon emitters, with an emission rate exceeding 1 million counts s −1 at room temperature. A new narrowband source of room‐temperature fluorescence found in hydrogen‐terminated nanodiamonds push horizons for quantum optical technologies related to the development of single photon emitters and temperature nanosensors.
Despite progress in the high-pressure synthesis of nanodiamonds from hydrocarbons, the problem of controlled formation of fluorescent impurity centers in them still remains unresolved. In our work, we explore the potential of a new precursor composition, a mixture of adamantane with detonation nanodiamond, both in the synthesis of nanodiamonds and in the controlled formation of negatively charged silicon-vacancy centers in such nanodiamonds. Using different adamantane/detonation nanodiamond weight ratios, a series of samples was synthesized at a pressure of 7.5 GPa in the temperature range of 1200–1500 °C. It was found that temperature around 1350 °C, is optimal for the high-yield synthesis of nanodiamonds <50 nm in size. For the first time, controlled formation of negatively charged silicon-vacancy centers in such small nanodiamonds was demonstrated by varying the atomic ratios of silicon/carbon in the precursor in the range of 0.01–1%.
Conductive graphitized grooves on the dielectric surface of diamond have been created by KrF excimer laser radiation. The advantages of such a circuit board in high-field applications is rather limited because the crystal surface has a relatively low electrical breakdown threshold. To increase the electrical strength, a method of encapsulating surface conductive graphitized structures by chemical vapor deposition of an epitaxial diamond layer has been proposed and realized. The quality of the growth diamond is proved by Raman spectroscopy. A comparative study of the electrical resistivity of graphitized wires and the breakdown fields between them before and after diamond growth was carried out. The proposed technique is crucial for diamond-based high-field electro-optical devices, such as THz photoconductive emitters.