Ing. Matúš Kaintz

Dopant-dopant and dopant-vacancy complexes in diamond can be exploited for the development of quantum computers, single-photon emitters, high-precision magnetic field sensing, and nanophotonic devices. While some dopant-vacancy complexes such as nitrogen- and silicon-vacancy centers are well studied, studies of other dopant and/or vacancy clusters are focused mainly on defect detection, with minimal investigation into their electronic features or how to tune their electronic and optical properties for specific applications. To this aim, we perform a thorough analysis of the coupled structural and electronic features of different dopant-dopant and dopant-vacancy cluster defects in diamond by means of first-principles calculations. We find that doping with 𝑝-type (𝑛-type) dopant does not always lead to the creation of 𝑝-type (𝑛-type) diamond structures, depending on the kind of cluster defect. We also identify the quantum mechanical descriptors that are most suitable to tune the electronic band gap about the Fermi level for each defect type. Finally, we propose how to choose suitable dopant atomic types, concentrations, and geometric environments to fabricate diamond-based materials for several technological applications such as electrodes, transparent conductive materials, intermediate-band photovoltaics, and multicolor emitters, among others.

Diamond-based compounds are ideal materials to build nanoengineered devices with wide applicability in nanophotonics, optomechanics, photovoltaics and electronics, where tuning the width and the character of the electronic band gap is paramount. While the available information is focused on specific aspects of the material preparation and response, a general understanding of how the entangled geometric and electronic properties determine the characteristics of the band gap is missing. The present work aims to tackle this challenge by means of first principle simulations. We show that specific charge distributions in the ion environment determine the width of the band gap; in order to control it, we suggest how to select suitable dopant atomic types and how to impose specific structural deformations. We also propose different routes to switch the character of the band gap from indirect to direct. The results pave new avenues aimed to design diamond-based nanostructured materials with targeted optical and electronic properties. The outcomes of the present work are general and can therefore be promptly applied to the study of optical and electronic materials irrespective of their chemical composition and atomic topology.