Diamond Devices for Extreme Environmental Sensing

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The move to a net-zero carbon economy means we have to be more efficient in the way we use the planet's resources and know more about the effect that our need for energy is having on our environment. Thus, the need for devices capable of trace chemical detection when deployed remotely in extreme conditions has never been greater. Such locations may be on-shore or off-shore, be for pollution detection or the identification of valuable geological sites. For example, both on-shore and deep ocean sites are considered potential regions for carbon storage. Conventional electronic sensor technologies typically use materials such as silicon that are not able to withstand the chemically and physically challenging environments that we increasingly need to place sensors for environmental monitoring. Raman spectroscopy is an excellent technique for chemical identification in, for example, marine environments or those that are geologically remote, as it is based on optical detection, but alone it is insufficiently sensitive for the necessary trace-level sensing.Surface-enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) on the other hand can be up to one-billion times as sensitive as standard Raman. SERS involves nano-sized particles or surface features that can display plasmonic resonance when under illumination. However, SERS measurements are restricted to the laboratory environment due to the fragile nature of these plasmonic SERS substrates. Diamond, though widely known as a gemstone, can now be grown in a laboratory and has excellent optical properties for this application. Both the incorporation of metallic nanoparticles within a diamond film and the use of nanostructured plasmonic diamond surfaces are being explored here at UCL to enable the first robust SERS technology to developed for detection of a range of species within extreme onshore and off-shore environments.For this experimentally based PhD, the successful candidate will join the enthusiastic and friendly Diamond Electronics Group (DEG) led by Professor Jackman and will enjoy the prospect of device fabrication in the LCN's state-of-the-art cleanroom facilities, using tools such as scanning probe microscopes and atomic layer deposition systems, as well as growing diamond using 'plasma' chemical vapour deposition methods. The This EPSRC PhD project is sponsored by Schlumberger Cambridge Research Centre with whom the student will actively collaborate. Schlumberger plays an important role to play in the global energy transition, with a vision to define and drive high performance sustainably, sharing the responsibility to act now and to act fast to decarbonize the world's energy system.