The use of the ultrafast pulse is the current trend in laser processing many materials, including diamonds. Recently, the orientation of the irradiated crystal face was shown to play a crucial role in the diamond to graphite transition process. Here, we develop this approach and explore the nanostructure of the sp2 phase, and the structural perfection of the graphite produced. The single pulse of the third harmonic of a Ti:sapphire laser (100 fs, 266 nm) was used to study the process of producing highly oriented graphite (HOG) layers on the (111) surface of a diamond monocrystal. The laser fluence dependence on ablated crater depth was analyzed, and three different regimes of laser-induced diamond graphitization are discussed, namely: nonablative graphitization, customary ablative graphitization, and bulk graphitization. The structure of the graphitized material was investigated by confocal Raman spectroscopy. A clear correlation was found between laser ablation regimes and sp2 phase structure. The main types of structural defects that disrupt the HOG formation both at low and high laser fluencies were determined by Raman spectroscopy. The patterns revealed give optimal laser fluence for the production of perfect graphite spots on the diamond surface.
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.
Experimental results are presented on laser-assisted synthesis of composite nanoparticles of perovskite BaTiO3 with gold nanoparticles using the technique of laser ablation in water and aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide. Nanoparticles of BaTiO3 are generated by near IR laser radiation with pulse durations of 170 fs, 1 ps, and 200 ns. Nanoparticles of barium titanate BaTiO3 (BTO) have tetragonal structure for all used pulse durations. Two ways of synthesis are tested. In the first one a gold target is ablated in the colloidal solution of BaTiO3 nanoparticles. The second way consists of laser exposure of the mixture of colloidal solutions of nanoparticles of BaTiO3 and Au. Synthesized composite nanoparticles are characterized by optical spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-Ray diffractometry, and Transmission Electron Microscopy. Composite BaTiO3‑Au nanoparticles have the absorption band in the visible range of spectrum and demonstrate plasmonic luminescence.