Element Six launches DNV-B14 diamond for quantum technology applications

Element Six, part of the De Beers Group, has launched DNV-B14, its latest general-purpose chemical vapour deposition (CVD) quantum-grade diamond.

According to the company, it makes a suitable material for quantum technologies such as magnetic field devices, RF sensors, solid-state gyroscopes and room temperature masers.

DNV-B14 has been designed to provide users with a uniform and high density of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) spin centres – more than a 10-fold increase in NV density compared to DNV-B1, which was Element Six’s first material in the DNV Series, launched last year. These two grades of material will provide quantum technologists with a choice depending on their device architecture.

DNV-B14 expands the company’s range of advanced materials for emerging quantum technologies. Diamond containing NV centres offers researchers a solid-state platform with spin qubits that can be initialised and read out at room temperature, with long qubit lifetimes. These properties stem from diamond’s unique structure and strong bonds.

According to Element Six, the combination of its engineered properties makes DNV-B14 a solution that’s suitable for experimentation and development of a range of technologies, such as ensemble NV-based vector magnetometry and room-temperature masers.

Dr Matthew Markham, Principal Scientist at Element Six, said: “I am excited that we are adding this new material to the DNV Series. This will enable increased flexibility for technologists developing new diamond quantum systems and accelerate the adoption of this disruptive technology”.

Element Six diamond with NV densities comparable to DNV-B14 has already been utilised in the development of high-sensitivity fibre-coupled magnetometers. Without the need for cumbersome cooling equipment, such devices can be made compact, and even portable. They are the enabler of medical diagnostic techniques such as magnetocardiography (MCG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG).

To date Element Six’s engineered diamond research has accelerated the delivery of many breakthroughs in quantum research, including in 2018, when Imperial College London utilised engineered single crystal material in the development of the world’s first continuous-wave, room-temperature, solid-state maser (the microwave equivalent of a laser).