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  • Review Article
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Diamond photonics

Abstract

Diamond, a material marvelled for its strength, beauty and perfection, was first used to polish stone axes in Neolithic times. This most ancient of materials is now being touted by many as the ideal platform for quantum-age technologies. In this Review, we describe how the properties of diamond match the requirements of the 'second quantum revolution'. We also discuss recent progress in the development of diamond — and particularly diamond colour centres — for transforming quantum information science into practical quantum information technology.

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Figure 1: NV centres in nanodiamond and single-crystal diamond.
Figure 2: Single-crystal diamond photonic structures.
Figure 3: Classical applications of diamond.
Figure 4: 3D STED images of NV centres in bulk diamond.
Figure 5: Diamond nanophotonic components.
Figure 6: Plasmonics with NV centres in diamond.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank R. Mildren for useful discussions about diamond Raman lasers. This work was supported by the Australian Research Council, The International Science Linkages Program of the Australian Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (project CG110039). A.D.G. was supported by the Australian Research Council Queen Elizabeth II Foundation (project DP0880466). I.A. acknowledges the Albert Shimmins Memorial Fund.

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Aharonovich, I., Greentree, A. & Prawer, S. Diamond photonics. Nature Photon 5, 397–405 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nphoton.2011.54

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