Engineered fluorescent nanodiamond
AssigneesThe Texas A&M University System, Carnegie Institution of Washington
InventorsPhilip Hemmer, Todd Zapata, Viktor Struzhkin, Yingwei Fei
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Abstract
Nanodiamonds are grown under conditions where diamond-like organic seed molecules do not decompose. This permits engineered growth of fluorescent nanodiamonds wherein a custom designed seed molecule can be incorporated at the center of a nanodiamond. By substituting atoms at particular locations in the seed molecule it is possible to achieve complex multi-atom diamond color centers or even to engineer complete quantum registers. In addition, it is possible to grow ultra-small nanodiamonds, wherein each nanodiamond, no matter how small, can have at least one bright and photostable fluorescent emitter.
Claims7
A composition for forming a nanodiamond, the composition comprising:
- a mixture of at least one organic seed molecule, wherein the organic seed molecule is selected from the groups consisting of adamantane, 1-adamantylamine and 2-azaadamantane N-oxyl;
- and
- an organic compound having a decomposition temperature that is lower than the decomposition temperature of the organic seed molecule, wherein the organic compound is selected from the group consisting of paraffin and heptamethylnonane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.