Nanodiamonds spur advances

The newest promising material for advanced technology applications is diamond nanotubes, and research at the US Department of Energy’s

is giving new insight into the nature of nanodiamond.

Argonne researcher Amanda Barnard, a theorist in the Center for Nanoscale Materials, is working with colleagues at two Italian universities who produced innovative diamond-coated nanotubes.

The diamond-coated tubes hold a layer of diamond 20 to 100nm thick. The technology, in its fledgling state, has already caught the eye of the electronics industry for the promise of ultra thin televisions with cathode ray tube-like quality picture at a fraction of today’s current flat panel television costs.

Wire molecules can be attached to it and diamond has superior light emission properties. While diamond is an insulating material, the surface is highly electronegative. A nanodiamond coating consists of pure surface diamond. This gives a diamond coated nanowire conductance from the nanotubes and the superior conduction from the diamond. Add to this superior light emission properties and very low voltage requirements, and the possibility exists for very flat, low energy displays.