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Scalable and Tunable Diamond Nanostructuring Process for Nanoscale NMR Applications
Martin Gierse1,2, Alastair Marshall1,2, M Usman Qureshi1
1NVision Imaging Technologies GmbH, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
ACS Omega
|September 12, 2022
Summary
Researchers developed a scalable method to create dense diamond nanopillars for quantum technology. This technique enables precise control over feature sizes for advanced quantum sensing applications using nitrogen-vacancy centers.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Quantum Engineering
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Nanostructuring bulk materials significantly alters their properties, opening avenues for novel applications.
- Diamond nanostructures are crucial for quantum technologies, particularly those utilizing defect spins like nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To present a scalable fabrication technique for creating densely packed diamond nanopillars.
- To enable tunable feature sizes without lithography for quantum technology applications.
- To demonstrate the utility of these nanopillars in quantum sensing.
Main Methods:
- Utilized oxygen-plasma etching of diamond with a dewetted palladium film as an etch mask.
- Implemented an iterative renewal of the palladium etch mask to control etch depth.
- Fabricated 300-400 million densely packed 100 nm wide, 1 μm tall diamond pillars on a 3 × 3 mm² sample.
Main Results:
- Achieved tunable feature sizes without lithographic techniques.
- Demonstrated high-aspect-ratio diamond nanopillars.
- Successfully created NV centers in nanopillar sidewalls for sensing 1H nuclei.
Conclusions:
- The developed nanostructuring technique is scalable and effective for producing diamond nanopillars.
- This method is crucial for advancing quantum sensing and enabling wide-scale implementation of NV-driven magnetic resonance imaging and NMR.
