TY - JOUR
T1 - The Nitrogen-Vacancy-Nitrogen Color Center
T2 - A Ubiquitous Visible and Near-Infrared-II Quantum Emitter in Nitrogen-Doped Diamond
AU - Johnson, Brett C.
AU - de Vries, Mitchell O.
AU - Healey, Alexander J.
AU - Capelli, Marco
AU - Manian, Anjay
AU - Thalassinos, Giannis
AU - Abraham, Amanda N.
AU - Hapuarachchi, Harini
AU - Luo, Tingpeng
AU - Mochalin, Vadym N.
AU - Jeske, Jan
AU - Cole, Jared H.
AU - Russo, Salvy
AU - Gibson, Brant C.
AU - Stacey, Alastair
AU - Reineck, Philipp
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2025/5/27
Y1 - 2025/5/27
N2 - Photoluminescent defects in diamond, such as the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color center, are at the forefront of emerging optical quantum technologies. Most emit in the visible and near-infrared spectral region below 1000 nm (NIR-I), limiting their applications in photonics, fiber communications, and biology. Here, we show that the nitrogen-vacancy-nitrogen (N2V) center, which emits in the visible and near-infrared-II (NIR-II, 1000-1700 nm), is ubiquitous in as-synthesized and processed nitrogen-doped diamond, ranging from bulk samples to nanoparticles. We demonstrate that N2V is also present in commercially available state-of-the-art NV diamond sensing chips made via chemical vapor deposition (CVD). In high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) diamonds, the photoluminescence (PL) intensity of both N2V charge states, N2V0 in the visible and N2V- in the NIR-II, increases with increasing substitutional nitrogen concentration. We determine the PL lifetime of N2V- to be 0.3 ns and compare a quantum optical and density functional theory model of the N2V- with experimental PL spectra. Finally, we show that detonation nanodiamonds (DND) exhibit stable PL in the NIR-II, which we attribute to the N2V color center, and use this NIR-II PL to image DNDs inside skin cells. Our results contribute to the scientific and technological exploration and development of the N2V color center and help elucidate interactions with other color centers in diamond.
AB - Photoluminescent defects in diamond, such as the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) color center, are at the forefront of emerging optical quantum technologies. Most emit in the visible and near-infrared spectral region below 1000 nm (NIR-I), limiting their applications in photonics, fiber communications, and biology. Here, we show that the nitrogen-vacancy-nitrogen (N2V) center, which emits in the visible and near-infrared-II (NIR-II, 1000-1700 nm), is ubiquitous in as-synthesized and processed nitrogen-doped diamond, ranging from bulk samples to nanoparticles. We demonstrate that N2V is also present in commercially available state-of-the-art NV diamond sensing chips made via chemical vapor deposition (CVD). In high-pressure high-temperature (HPHT) diamonds, the photoluminescence (PL) intensity of both N2V charge states, N2V0 in the visible and N2V- in the NIR-II, increases with increasing substitutional nitrogen concentration. We determine the PL lifetime of N2V- to be 0.3 ns and compare a quantum optical and density functional theory model of the N2V- with experimental PL spectra. Finally, we show that detonation nanodiamonds (DND) exhibit stable PL in the NIR-II, which we attribute to the N2V color center, and use this NIR-II PL to image DNDs inside skin cells. Our results contribute to the scientific and technological exploration and development of the N2V color center and help elucidate interactions with other color centers in diamond.
KW - bioimaging
KW - color centers
KW - detonation nanodiamond
KW - diamond
KW - near-infrared
KW - photoluminescence
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105005175491
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=105005175491&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acsnano.4c18283
DO - 10.1021/acsnano.4c18283
M3 - Article
C2 - 40366900
AN - SCOPUS:105005175491
SN - 1936-0851
VL - 19
SP - 19046
EP - 19056
JO - ACS Nano
JF - ACS Nano
IS - 20
ER -