Abstract

The use of colour centres in diamond has attracted considerable interest in a range of research fields including quantum technology and biomedical imaging. Colour centres can serve as single photon sources [1] or bright labels for bio tracking [2]. The nitrogen-vacancy centre (NV) in particular, with its unique optical and spin properties, made possible recent demonstrations such as high resolution magnetometry [3, 4], sub diffraction limit optical microscopy [5, 6], and quantum information technology [7, 8]. Some of these applications only require the unique optical and magnetic properties of NV centres, while other applications also require controlled modification of nanodiamond material properties. For instance, reducing the size of the nanodiamond host, or increasing the colour centre concentration for brighter emission can be crucial for bio-related applications.

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