The research group of Professor Mutsuko Hatano of Tokyo Institute of Technology and others succeeded for the first time in the world in forming a luminous body made of germanium and minute holes in diamond.It can be expected to be applied to markers for imaging living cells, cryptographic communication, high-sensitivity sensors, etc.
Diamond has a structure in which carbon atoms are arranged three-dimensionally, but there are some defects in which the atoms are missing.If it contains germanium atoms as impurities, it has the property of absorbing light by acting with defects in diamond.And the absorbed light is emitted again.By absorbing light, it also emits light.A defect structure formed inside a solid that emits light is called a color center.It is thought that diamond itself can be used as a marker for visualizing cells alive because it is easy to adapt to living organisms and the life of the color center is long.For that purpose, it is necessary to form a set of many color centers and realize a state of emitting strong light.It is also said that if it is possible to form an isolated color center, it can also be used for encrypted communication.And in this research, we succeeded in forming both of them.Color centers containing germanium are superior in that they can emit stronger light and have less variation in quality than those containing nitrogen and silicon that have been known so far.
Diamond has a strong image as a jewelry, but it is also a very important substance scientifically and industrially.In this way, at cutting-edge research sites, we are playing an active role as a leader in technology that is unexpected from diamond as a jewel.People with diamond rings may look a little different.
