Modified nanodiamonds hold promise for quantum computing

These NV (nitrogen vacancy) doped nanodiamonds, which are four to eight nanometres wide, could also find use in single-photon sensors and nontoxic, fluorescent biomarkers.

Computers currently use binary logic, in which each binary unit (bit) is in one of two states: 1 or 0. Quantum computing, which could significantly increase computing power and speed, makes use of superposition and entanglement, allowing the creation of quantum bits (qubits) which can have a vast number of possible states.

A number of options have been explored for creating quantum-computing systems, including the use of diamonds that have nitrogen-vacancy centres.

According to NC State, diamond has a very specific crystalline structure, consisting of repeated diamond tetrahedrons that contain five carbon atoms each. The NC State research team is said to have developed a new technique for creating diamond tetrahedrons that have two carbon atoms; one vacancy, where an atom is missing; one carbon-13 atom (a stable carbon isotope that has six protons and seven neutrons); and one nitrogen atom. This is called the NV centre. Each NV-doped nanodiamond contains thousands of atoms, but has only one NV centre; the remainder of the tetrahedrons in the nanodiamond are made solely of carbon.