Nanocone Structures Enhancing Nitrogen-Vacancy Center Emissions in Diamonds

In this study, nitrogen-vacancy center emissions from nanocone structures fabricated on diamond surfaces by gold film annealing and inductively coupled plasma etching techniques were characterized. First, the diamond substate deposited with gold film was annealed to form a nano-sized dot mask. Second, through inductively coupled plasma etching, nanocone-shaped structures were fabricated using optimized gold dots as masks. Finally, the as-fabricated nanocone and planar structures were investigated with photoluminescence experiments at temperatures ranging from room temperature to 80 K, with the results showing approximately two-fold higher emission values for nitrogen-vacancy centers from nanocones.