Self-Assembled Fluorescent Nanodiamond Layers for Quantum Imaging

Abstract

The nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center in diamond is emerging as a powerful tool for imaging magnetic and electric signals at the microscale and below. However, most imaging demonstrations thus far have relied on costly, millimeter-sized bulk diamond substrates, which cannot be easily scaled or integrated with other materials. Here, we report a scalable method for fabricating NV-containing dense and homogenous fluorescent nanodiamond (FND) layers through electrostatic self-assembly and demonstrate the utility of the FND layers for magnetic imaging. We investigate the effect of FND concentration in suspension, substrate immersion time, and solvent pH on the FND density on the substrate. We identify..