Abstract
Identifying the surface chemistry of diamond materials is increasingly important for device applications, especially quantum sensors. Oxygen-related termination species are widely used because they are naturally abundant, chemically stable, and compatible with stable nitrogen vacancy centres near the diamond surface. Diamond surfaces host a mixture of oxygen-related species, and the precise chemistry and relative coverage of different species can lead to dramatically different electronic properties, with direct consequences for near-surface quantum sensors. However, it is challenging to unambiguously identify the different groups or quantify the relative surface coverage. Here we show that a combination of x-ray absorption and photoelectron spectroscopies can be used to quantitatively identify the coverage of carbonyl functional groups on the { 100 } diamond surface. Using this method we reveal an unexpectedly high fraction of carbonyl groups ( > 9%) on a wide range of sample surfaces. Furthermore, through a combination of ab initio calculations and spectroscopic studies of engineered surfaces, we reveal unexpected complexities in the x-ray spectroscopy of oxygen terminated diamond surfaces. Of particular note, we find the binding energies of carbonyl-related groups on diamond differs significantly from other organic systems, likely resulting in previous misestimation of carbonyl fractions on diamond surfaces.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | 045901 |
Journal | Materials for Quantum Technology |
Volume | 3 |
Issue number | 4 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 1 2023 |
Externally published | Yes |
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- General Materials Science
- Condensed Matter Physics
- Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics
Keywords
- DFT
- NEXAFS
- XPS
- diamond surface for NV centres
- oxygen terminated diamond
- surface spectroscopy