Abstract
Diamond nanocrystals (size ~100 nm) emit bright luminescence at 600-800 nm when exposed to green and yellow photons. The photoluminescence, arising from excitation of the nitrogen-vacancy defect centers created by proton-beam irradiation and thermal annealing, closely resembles the extended red emission (ERE) bands observed in reflection nebulae and planetary nebulae. The central wavelength of the emission is ~700 nm, and it blueshifts to ~660 nm as the excitation wavelength decreases from 535 to 470 nm as the result of a combined excitation of two different detect centers [(N-V)- and (N-V)0]. Our observations lend support to the suggestion that nanodiamond is a possible carrier for the ERE band.
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