Synthesis of Doped, Plasmonic Nanodiamonds from Vapor Precursors by Plasma-based Strategies

非技术描述：当光线照射到金属上时，可能会导致材料中的自由电子同步运动，产生称为等离子体的集体振荡。金属的等离子体性质是世界各地装饰建筑物的彩色玻璃窗的一些鲜艳颜色的原因。与此同时，等离子体现象是新兴电信设备、能源收集技术和医疗保健的核心。然而，研究最多的等离子体金属，金和银，有几个缺点，包括相对较高的成本，有限的光学性质，和能量损失。或者，故意添加杂质原子生长的半导体也表现出可调的等离子体性质，同时还与微电子制造工艺兼容。由于掺杂金刚石具有光学透明性、化学惰性和生物相容性，本项目试图将其作为一种新的半导体等离子体材料来添加。本科生和高中生参与了这项研究，以激励他们并为他们在科学、技术和工程学科的职业生涯做好准备。此外，还计划在撒哈拉以南非洲和意大利为研究生提供国际经验，以说明研究与社会挑战之间的联系。技术说明：该项目的目标是开发钻石作为等离子材料。该项目分为两个推进阶段。第一个推力包括合成掺杂了杂质的纳米钻石，这可以支持局域表面等离子体共振。第二个推力涉及掺杂纳米钻石的等离子体性质的光学特征。为了合成掺杂纳米金刚石，利用了等离子体过程，在该过程中，分子蒸汽前体被解离成均匀的(无衬底)成核的气溶胶粒子。掺杂是通过金刚石核与杂质原子的共沉淀进行的，类似于化学气相沉积。使用一套材料分析技术对掺杂水平和掺杂性质(表面和体相)进行评估。用变角椭圆偏振光谱和暗场显微镜对所得材料的光学性质进行了表征。一个跨学科的团队正在合作进行这项研究，交流材料合成、材料表征和光学光谱学方面的知识，共同的目标是创造一类全新的优质等离子体材料。低损耗和生物相容的等离子体纳米钻石可能会释放出几个技术机会，从量子计算到精确医学的应用。

Nontechnical Description: When light impinges on a metal it may cause the free electrons in the material to move in unison, with the collective oscillations known as plasmons. The plasmonic properties of metals are responsible for some of the vibrant colors of stained glass windows decorating buildings all around the world. At the same time, plasmonic phenomena are at the heart of emerging telecommunications devices, energy harvesting technologies, and healthcare. However, the most commonly studied plasmonic metals, gold and silver, have several drawbacks including their relatively high cost, limited optical properties, and energetic losses. Alternately, semiconductors grown with intentionally added impurity atoms also exhibit tunable plasmonic properties while additionally being compatible with microelectronics manufacturing processes. This project seeks to add impurity-doped diamond, due to its optical transparency, chemical inertness, and biocompatibility, as a new semiconductor-based plasmonic material. Undergraduate and high school students are involved in the research to motivate and prepare them for careers in science, technology and engineering desciplines. In addition, international experiences are planned in sub-Saharan Africa and Italy for graduate students to illustrate the connection between research and societal challenges.Technical Description: The goal of the project is to develop diamond as a plasmonic material. The project is divided into two thrusts. The first thrust comprises synthesis of nanodiamonds doped with impurities, which can support localized surface plasmon resonances. The second thrust addresses optical characterization of the plasmonic properties of doped nanodiamonds. To synthesize doped nanodiamonds, a plasma process is utilized in which molecular vapor precursors are dissociated to homogeneously (substrate-free) nucleated aerosol particles. Doping is carried out by co-precipitation of the diamond nuclei with the impurity atoms, analogous to chemical vapor deposition. Assessment of the doping level and nature of doping (surface vs. bulk) is carried out utilizing a suite of materials analysis techniques. The optical properties of the resulting material are characterized by variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry and dark field microscopy. An interdisciplinary team is collaborating on the research, exchanging knowledge in materials synthesis, materials characterization, and optical spectroscopy, with a common goal of creating a de novo class of superior plasmonic materials. Low loss and biocompatible plasmonic nanodiamonds may unlock several technological opportunities, spanning applications from quantum computing to precision medicine.