title: Directed assembly of nanodiamond nitrogen-vacancy centers on a chemically modified patterned surface.
abstract: Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in nanodiamond (ND) particles are an attractive material for photonic, quantum information, and biological sensing technologies due to their optical properties-bright single photon emission and long spin coherence time. To harness these features in practical devices, it is essential to realize efficient methods to assemble and pattern NDs at the micro-/nanoscale. In this work, we report the large scale patterned assembly of NDs on a Au surface by creating hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions using self-assembled monolayer (SAM). Hydrophobic regions are created using a methyl (-CH3) terminated SAM of octadecanethiol molecules. Evaporating a water droplet suspension of NDs on the SAM patterned surface assembles the NDs in the bare Au, hydrophilic regions. Using this procedure, we successfully produced a ND structures in the shape of dots, lines, and rectangles. Subsequent photoluminescence imaging of the patterned NDs confirmed the presence of optically active NV centers. Experimental evidence in conjunction with computational analysis indicates that the surface wettability of the SAM modified Au surface plays a dominant role in the assembly of NDs as compared to van der Waals and other substrate-ND interactions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals , Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Saleem G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Altaf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Karim
authors.forename: Julian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: Natania
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Antler
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schenkel
authors.forename: Irfan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Siddiqi
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D004058:Diffusion; D049449:Luminescence; D058612:Nanodiamonds / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000737:chemistry*; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties; D013997:Time Factors; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction
chemical_list: D058612:Nanodiamonds; D013438:Sulfhydryl Compounds; C055360:n-octadecyl mercaptan; D009584:Nitrogen