Time-Resolved Luminescence Nanothermometry with Nitrogen-Vacancy Centers in Nanodiamonds

Area of Science:

• Nanoscale science and technology
• Quantum sensing
• Thermodynamics

Background:

• Accurate temperature measurement at the nanoscale is crucial for various applications.
• Nitrogen-vacancy (NV(-)) centers in diamond are emerging as sensitive nanometric temperature probes.
• Previous NV(-) center thermometry was limited to steady-state conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a time-resolved method for nanoscale temperature sensing.
• To enable real-time monitoring of temperature changes (±100 K) and study nanoscale heat transfer.
• To achieve a temporal resolution better than 10 microseconds.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a three-point sampling method for temperature monitoring.
• Utilizing a pump-probe experimental setup for time-resolved studies.
• Employing fluorescent nanodiamonds and finite-element numerical simulations for validation.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated real-time temperature monitoring with ±100 K range.
• Achieved temporal resolution below 10 microseconds for heat transfer studies.
• Validated measurements using fluorescent nanodiamonds in gold nanorod solution and numerical simulations.

Conclusions:

• The developed time-resolved luminescence nanothermometry is effective for nanoscale temperature sensing.
• This technique facilitates the study of dynamic thermal processes at the nanoscale.
• The approach holds potential for applications in laser material processing and operational nanodevices.