Boron-doped diamonds: The future of quantum and biomedical tech

The most recent studies in "Nature Communications" suggest new possibilities for applying diamond semiconductors. Boron-doped diamonds can generate plasmons, paving the way for their use in advanced biosensors and optical devices on the nanoscale.

Diamonds are also excellent heat conductors renowned for their hardness and clarity. Consequently, they are employed in thermal conductive pastes. With dopants like boron, diamonds can become semiconductors, making them attractive for high-power electronics and modern quantum optics. Researchers from Case Western Reserve University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have discovered that boron-doped diamonds can generate plasmons — waves of electrons that move under the influence of light.

Plasmons in boron-doped diamonds enable the control and enhancement of electric fields on the nanometre scale. This breakthrough could lead to developing new types of biomedical and quantum devices with higher efficiency than current technologies. These diamonds may be used in medical imaging, high-sensitivity biochips, and molecular sensors.

"Understanding how doping affects the optical response of semiconductors like diamond changes our understanding of these materials," said Mohan Sankaran, professor of nuclear, plasma, and radiological engineering at the Illinois Grainger College of Engineering.

Plasmonic materials have been utilised for centuries before their scientific foundations were understood. Medieval stained glass owes its colours to metal nanoparticles that generate plasmons. Due to their transparency and chemical inertness, boron-doped diamonds can be applied in settings where other materials fail.

These diamonds, despite doping, retain transparency with a blue tint, making them unique among semiconductor materials.