In a recent study published in Nature Communications, researchers at Purdue University have successfully levitated fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) in a vacuum and spun them at ultra-high speeds, paving the way for new applications in various industries.
About Fluorescent Nanodiamonds (FNDs)
- Definition: Fluorescent nanodiamonds (FNDs) are nanometre-sized diamonds composed of carbon nanoparticles.
- Key Characteristics of Fluorescent Nanodiamonds (FNDs)
- Production Process: Created through high-temperature and high-pressure methods.
- Stability: FNDs are stable under light and Non-toxic to living things.
- Fluorescence: They exhibit a long fluorescence lifespan of over 10 nanoseconds, outperforming quantum dots.
- FNDs don’t blink when irradiated for a long time.
- Fluorescence is the property of some materials to emit light of lower frequency when irradiated with light of a higher frequency.
- Applications of FND:
- Medical Diagnostics: FND helps in High-resolution imaging for cellular and molecular visualisation.
- Track Cells: In biology, scientists use FNDs to track cells and their progeny over long periods.
- Enhanced Imaging Techniques: FNDs improve the correlation between different imaging modalities, allowing for comprehensive analysis of samples.
- Industrial Applications:
- Gyroscopes: The properties of FNDs can be harnessed to create advanced gyroscopes for measuring rotation.
- Doping for Enhanced Properties: Modifying FNDs by adding nitrogen can improve their functionality for applications in quantum technology.
- Temperature Sensing: Precise microscale temperature measurements in biological and industrial settings.
- Sensitive Accelerometers: FNDs can detect minute changes in acceleration, making them suitable for high-value sensors in various industries.
- Quantum Computing: FNDs can be engineered to host spin qubits, contributing to the development of quantum computing technologies.
- Biosensing: FNDs can be used to detect environmental pollutants or biomarkers, contributing to ecological and health monitoring.
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Associated Concepts to FND
- Quantum Spin: Quantum spin is a fundamental property of tiny particles, like electrons, that can be thought of as a kind of intrinsic “rotation”.
- The spin of an electron can point in two main directions i.e “up” and “down.”
- Berry Phase: The Berry phase is a concept in quantum mechanics that describes a phenomenon where the state of a particle changes as it moves around a closed path in space.
- In quantum mechanics, when an electron goes through various states and returns to its original state, its wave function can pick up an extra phase: the Berry phase.
- By showing they could measure the Berry phase of the spin qubits due to the rotation, the Purdue team’s work opens the door for using FNDs in new contexts.
- Nitrogen Vacancy (NV) Centres: NV centres are specific defects in diamond crystals where a nitrogen atom replaces a carbon atom, creating a vacancy (missing carbon atom) in the lattice.
- This structure allows for unique electronic properties.
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October 4, 2024
