Scientists indicate that thanks to discoveries regarding the properties of diamonds with the addition of boron, new types of biomedical devices and quantum optical devices may be created – reported the magazine “Nature Communications”.
Diamond is known mainly for its hardness and transparency, and it also dissipates heat very well, which is why thermally conductive pastes with diamond dust are used in electronic devices. Ordinary diamond is an excellent insulator, but thanks to dopants it becomes a semiconductor that is used in high-power electronics and new generation quantum optics.
Plasmons and new properties of diamonds
Scientists from Case Western Reserve University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (USA) discovered another interesting property of diamonds with the addition of boron, known as boron-doped diamonds.
They can produce plasmons – waves of electrons that move when light falls on them. This will allow for the control and amplification of electric fields at the nanometer scale. This is important for advanced biosensors, nanoscale optical devices, and for improving solar cells and quantum devices.
Properties of diamonds with boron
Previously, it was known that boron-doped diamonds conduct electricity and even become superconductors under high pressure. But unlike metals and even other doped semiconductors, they do not have plasmonic properties.
Thanks to current discoveries, new types of biomedical devices and quantum optical devices may be created in the future – faster, more efficient and able to process information in a way that classic technologies cannot.
“Understanding how doping affects the optical response of semiconductors like diamond is changing our understanding of these materials,” said Mohan Sankaran, professor of nuclear, plasma and radiological engineering at the Illinois Grainger College of Engineering.
Interesting history of plasmonic materials
Plasmonic materials, which affect light at the nanoscale, have been produced for centuries before the science of how they work was understood. The vibrant colors of medieval stained glass come from metal nanoparticles embedded in the glass. When light passes through them, these particles generate plasmons, which produce specific colors. Gold nanoparticles appear ruby ​​red, while silver nanoparticles appear intensely yellow.
Diamonds, which are transparent crystals of the element carbon, can be synthesized with the addition of small amounts of boron, which is adjacent to carbon in the periodic table. Boron contains one less electron than carbon, which allows it to accept electrons, creating a “hole” in the material, which increases the material's ability to conduct electricity. The boron-doped diamond lattice remains transparent, with a blue tint. (The famous Hope diamond is blue because it contains small amounts of boron.)
The Blue Hope Diamond on display at the Smithsonian MuseumChicagoPhotographer/Shutterstock
Due to its other unique properties – it is also chemically inert and biologically compatible – boron-doped diamond could potentially be used where other materials would fail, such as in medical imaging, high-sensitivity biochips, or molecular sensors.
Main photo source: Shutterstock