Publication date: 15th May 2025
Rhombohedral diamond nanocrystals with (111) termination (d = 5–20) nm are synthesized from 1-fluoroadamantane at high pressure (5.5–8 GPa) and high temperature (1000–1500 ˚C) in a multianvil cell. X-ray absorption spectra of nanodiamonds as small as 4.5 nm display the signature of a core-hole exciton, which supports the excellent crystallinity and sample purity. Following vacancy implantation and annealing NV0/- luminescence was measured with scanning confocal photoluminescence microscopy. A majority of NV0 centers and a minor fraction of NV- are observed in three samples with average dimensions of 5, 12, and 15 nm. Optically detected magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurements were used to measure the electron spin coherence time, which improved from 0.9 to 3.3 µs with decoupling at room temperature. The influence of cyrstal size and doping on the coherence times of NV centers in nanoscale diamond will be discussed.