title: Nitrogen and luminescent nitrogen-vacancy defects in detonation nanodiamond.
abstract: An efficient method to investigate the microstructure and spatial distribution of nitrogen and nitrogen-vacancy (N-V) defects in detonation nanodiamond (DND) with primary particle sizes ranging from approximately 3 to 50 nm is presented. Detailed analysis reveals atomic nitrogen concentrations as high as 3 at% in 50% of diamond primary particles with sizes smaller than 6 nm. A non-uniform distribution of nitrogen within larger primary DND particles is also presented, indicating a preference for location within the defective central part or at twin boundaries. A photoluminescence (PL) spectrum with well-pronounced zero-phonon lines related to the N-V centers is demonstrated for the first time for electron-irradiated and annealed DND particles at continuous laser excitation. Combined Raman and PL analysis of DND crystallites dispersed on a Si substrate leads to the conclusion that the observed N-V luminescence originates from primary particles with sizes exceeding 30 nm. These findings demonstrate that by manipulation of the size/nitrogen content in DND there are prospects for mass production of nanodiamond photoemitters based on bright and stable luminescence from nitrogen-related defects.
authors.affiliation: General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 38 Vavilov Street, 119991 Moscow, Russia. vlasov@nsc.gpi.ru
authors.forename: Igor I
authors.initials: II
authors.lastname: Vlasov
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Shenderova
authors.forename: Stuart
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Oleg I
authors.initials: OI
authors.lastname: Lebedev
authors.forename: Artem A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Basov
authors.forename: Ilmo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sildos
authors.forename: Mickel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rähn
authors.forename: Andrey A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Shiryaev
authors.forename: Gustaaf
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Van Tendeloo
mesh_terms: D049449:Luminescence; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D017348:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning Transmission; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D013059:Spectrum Analysis, Raman
chemical_list: D009584:Nitrogen