Work Package 1 entails administrative, financial, and project management responsibilities. Leicester serves as the coordinator for the entire project and assumes the leadership role within WP1. Professor H. Ye, the Principal Investigator (PI), has adeptly ensured the efficient day-to-day management and coordination of the project. Additionally, Prof. Ye provides comprehensive managerial guidance to the consortium, acts as the designated consortium contact person, and interfaces with the EC regarding all contractual matters. This role has proven to be exceptionally demanding, particularly given the unexpected challenge posed by the pandemic occurring in the midst of the project.
Work Package 2 focuses on Diamond growth, and in the context of this work package, we have executed a series of impactful secondment activities. We have grown a series of diamond films with various grain size and thickmess and surface funtionality . The consortium members’ input proved invaluable in guiding the optimal structuring and execution of international collaborative endeavors, encompassing staff and student exchanges. The collaborative efforts between University of Leicester and its partners culminated in the successful cultivation of high-quality nanocrystalline diamond films, achieved through the innovative hot filament chemical vapor deposition method.
Work package 3 is on the topic of diamond biomarkers. University of Leicester’s collaboration with CIT and USTB has yielded comprehensive characterisation of the photoluminescence properties inherent to the diamond films. This intricate analysis holds pivotal significance in the context of subsequent biomarker applications. A series of samples were subjected to meticulous optical investigations, employing techniques including Raman spectroscopy, fluorescence imaging, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The outcomes derived from these studies have unveiled intriguing luminescent phenomena within the diamond material. Importantly, these observations potentially serve as discriminative indicators, enabling the potential differentiation between naturally occurring and laboratory-crafted diamond gemstone.
Work Package 4 centers around the development of diamond-based power devices, employing cutting-edge patterning technologies like electron beam lithography and nanoimprint lithography. Notably, innovative Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor (MIS) diode and MISFET devices have been successfully fabricated, utilizing diamond as gate layers through conventional photolithography techniques. Comprehensive assessments of device performance and evaluations have been meticulously conducted, yielding detailed insights, resulting in a number of publications.
Work Package 5 revolves around the creation of diamond-plasmon hybrid photonic devices, with a set of key objectives: (1) achieving plasmonic metamaterials with exceptionally small mode volumes, surpassing deep subwavelength scales, (2) integrating diamond nanocrystals into the metamaterial architecture through self-assembly techniques; (3) thoroughly characterizing the spontaneous emission behaviors of NV centers within the nano-diamond crystals within these hybrid structures. The University of Birmingham has initiated preliminary investigations into the design of the meta-structure centered around diamond. The employment of high-quality diamond substrates stands as the foundation for subsequent nanostructure fabrication facilitated by electronic beam lithography and focused ion beam techniques. These nanostructures present formidable challenges in fabrication, with their optical properties fully assessed. The work in this domain remains highly intricate and demanding, reflecting our dedication to achieving significant progress.
