Dyman Advanced Materials
Development of the next generation of synthetic diamonds
Dyman Advanced Materials is using the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s (STFC) particle accelerator facilities to develop the next generation of synthetic diamonds for the gemstone and industry market.
Challenge
Diamond is a material with an increasingly wide range of applications thanks in part to its superlative material properties. In addition, diamond is home to a range of atomic scale defects being explored for application in emerging quantum technologies. Dyman Advanced Materials are manufacturing next generation diamond and related materials utilizing a novel pressure generation technology. Dyman was interested in developing diamond material containing optimised populations of nitrogen vacancy (NV) point defects. Such NV diamond has diverse potential applications including magnetic field sensing, quantum computing and bio-imaging. NV centres and other point defects also influence diamond colour which is desirable for the gemstone market. To develop a process to produce this material, Dyman required access to electron accelerator facilities. The ideal partner was found in STFC who provided both the relevant expertise and a suitable UK facility to carry out this process development.
Solution
STFC’s Daresbury Laboratory provided Dyman access to their Linac Test Facility. This comprises a compact linear accelerator able to provide a large total number of electrons at the right energy to introduce NVs. The parameters of the electron beam were characterised by STFC personnel who shared this data with Dyman. With this knowledge, scientists at Dyman were able to plan in detail a series of experiments which would determine the optimal electron dose for producing the desired concentration of highly coherent NV defects.
Benefits
Through a series of trials on the Linac Test Facility, Dyman has been able to rapidly optimise a recipe for producing diamond single crystals with populations of NV centres well suited for quantum and sensing applications. STFC’s unique facilities and the expertise of its personnel have significantly accelerated Dyman Advanced Materials’ R&D progress in this area.
Enquires
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