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

非技术描述：当光照射在金属上时，它可能会导致材料中的自由电子一起运动，产生被称为等离子体激元的集体振荡。金属的等离子体特性使世界各地建筑物的彩色玻璃窗呈现出鲜艳的色彩。与此同时，等离子体现象是新兴电信设备、能量收集技术和医疗保健的核心。然而，最常研究的等离子体金属，金和银，有几个缺点，包括它们相对较高的成本，有限的光学性质，和能量损失。另外，有意添加杂质原子生长的半导体也表现出可调谐的等离子体特性，同时还与微电子制造工艺兼容。由于其光学透明性、化学惰性和生物相容性，本项目寻求添加掺杂杂质的金刚石作为一种新的半导体基等离子体材料。本科生和高中生参与研究，以激励和准备他们在科学，技术和工程学科的职业生涯。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。技术描述：该项目的目标是开发金刚石作为等离子体材料。该项目分为两个重点。第一个推力包括合成掺杂杂质的纳米金刚石，它可以支持局部表面等离子体共振。第二个推力涉及掺杂纳米金刚石等离子体特性的光学表征。为了合成掺杂纳米金刚石，利用等离子体工艺将分子蒸汽前体解离成均匀的（无底物）成核气溶胶颗粒。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来评估掺杂水平和掺杂性质（表面与体）。利用变角椭偏光谱和暗场显微镜对材料的光学特性进行了表征。一个跨学科团队正在合作进行研究，交流材料合成，材料表征和光谱学方面的知识，共同目标是创造一种全新的优质等离子体材料。低损耗和生物相容性等离子体纳米金刚石可能会带来一些技术机会，从量子计算到精准医疗的应用。

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.