Far-UV Excited Luminescence of Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers: Evidence for Diamonds in Space
Hsiao-Chi Lu,*,1 Yu-Chain Peng,1 Sheng-Lung Chou,1 Jen-Iu Lo,1 Bing-Ming Cheng,*,1,2 and Huan-Cheng Chang*,3,4
1National Synchrotron Radiation Research Centre, No. 101, Hsin-Ann Road, Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu 30076, Taiwan, Republic of China
2Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, 10 Lo Ping Road, Tai Po, New Territories, Hong Kong
3Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei 106, Taiwan, Republic of China
4Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei 106, Taiwan, Republic of China
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 56, 14469–14473 (2017).
The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are among the most thoroughly investigated defects in the solid state of matter; however, our understanding of their properties upon far-UV excitation of the host matrix is limited. The knowledge is crucial for the identification of NV as the carrier of extended red emission (ERE) bands detected in a wide range of astrophysical environments. Here, we report a study on the photoluminescence spectra of NV-containing nanodiamonds excited with synchrotron radiation over the wavelength range of 125 – 350 nm. We observed, for the first time, the emission at 520 – 850 nm with a quantum yield greater than 20 %. Our results share multiple similarities with the ERE phenomena, suggesting that nanodiamonds are a common component of dust in space.