Recombination luminescence from defects in boron-ion implantation-doped diamond using low fluences

Multiphoton Upconversion Emission from Diamond Single Crystals

Room-temperature upconversion emission up to eight-photon absorption is demonstrated from diamond single crystals under femtosecond laser excitation for the first time. The low concentration of defects and impurities is attributed to the support of free excitons emission at 235 nm. Nonlinear optical properties are also investigated by using an open-aperture Z-scan technique. The corresponding three-, five-, and eight-photon absorption coefficients of the diamonds are found to be 1.8 × 10^-2 cm³/GW², 5 × 10^-9 cm⁷/GW⁴, and 1.6 × 10^-19 cm¹³/GW⁷, respectively. Considering its high hardness and high thermal conductivity, diamonds are a versatile nonlinear optical material suitable for high-power deep ultraviolet applications under multiphoton excitation.

Diamond nanowires for highly sensitive matrix-free mass spectrometry analysis of small molecules

This paper reports on the use of boron-doped diamond nanowires (BDD NWs) as an inorganic substrate for matrix-free laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) analysis of small molecules. The diamond nanowires are prepared by reactive ion etching (RIE) with oxygen plasma of highly boron-doped (the boron level is 10(19) B cm(-3)) or undoped nanocrystalline diamond substrates. The resulting diamond nanowires are coated with a thin silicon oxide layer that confers a superhydrophilic character to the surface. To minimize droplet spreading, the nanowires were chemically functionalized with octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) and then UV/ozone treated to reach a final water contact angle of 120°. The sub-bandgap absorption under UV laser irradiation and the heat confinement inside the nanowires allowed desorption/ionization, most likely via a thermal mechanism, and mass spectrometry analysis of small molecules. A detection limit of 200 zeptomole for verapamil was demonstrated.