Using light emitted from diamond beads, Dr. Vietnamese measured the temperature at nanoscale

A research group has links from many countries - led by scientists at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), specifically TS. Trần Trọng Toàn (Vietnamese nationality) and TS. Bradac Carlo (Italian-Australian nationality), developed a type of nanoscale thermometer with extremely high sensitivity.

A breakthrough, completely new method has been discovered by scientists at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) utilizing quantum light to measure the temperature at nanoscale. Leading this research is a Vietnamese lecturer at UTS — TS. Tran Trong Toan. He is one of the leading scientists in exploring and applying new quantum light sources to various applications for quantum communication and measurement technology.

Illustrated application of nanometer-sized thermometer for measuring and monitoring microchips at micro-size - copyright by TS.Tran Trong Toan.

Measuring and monitoring micro-sized temperatures — for example, in cells or in nanoscale-sized micro-meters / micro-meters — are of tremendous importance in many fields. Different areas of research: from the ability to detect diseases early to one of the biggest obstacles in the field of computing and communication technology, how to measure the scalability and performance of cities electronic circuit part.

A research group has links from many countries, led by scientists at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), namely TS. Trần Trọng Toàn (Vietnamese nationality) and TS . Bradac Carlo (Italian-Australian nationality) developed a type of nanoscale thermometer with extremely high sensitivity. This type of thermometer takes advantage of atomic defect structures in nano diamond particles to accurately measure the temperature in nanometers. These micro-meters use the quantum properties of atomic defects, instead of classical physics principles.

Nano diamonds are extremely small diamond particles, only about a tenth of the thickness of a hair fiber, capable of glowing when excited by a laser.

Dr. Bradac Carlo said: " This newly discovered method does not stop at a successful laboratory test, but it can be widely applied now. We are currently using this method to is it possible to measure temperature variations on biological samples such as cells, or on high-power electronic circuits - where is the measurement and control of temperature at such a small size can be achieved using previous methods ".

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, is one of the world's leading journals in all areas of science and is also the only sister magazine of the famous Science magazine. This study is a collaborative and cooperative effort of scientists around the world, including scientists at UTS, Australia and scientists at the Russian Academy (Russia), University Nanyang Technology (Singapore), and Harvard University (USA).

Lead author of the study - TS. Tran Trong Toan explains: " While diamonds look transparent, they are often included in lattice of foreign atoms. These foreign atoms are quantum optical systems mentioned above. In addition the creation of different colors on diamonds such as gold, pink, blue . these crystal defects emit light at certain wavelengths, when excited by lasers ".

Photographs in TS's quantum optical laboratory.Tran Trong Toan (left) and TS.Bradac Carlo (right) - copyright by TS.Tran Trong Toan.

These scientists discovered a special physical mechanism, called Anti-Stokes . With the new mechanism, the intensity of light emitted from nano diamond particles depends greatly on the temperature of the environment around them. Because these diamond particles can be made only a few nanometers in size, they can be used as nanoscale thermometers.

"We immediately realized that we could take advantage of the mechanism of dependence between light and temperature, and take advantage of these diamond particles as micro-temperature sensors ," said TS. Bradac Carlo said.

The researchers suggest that a remarkable strength of this method is that it uses only light to measure the temperature , not using any other effect, such as mechanics or power. This method is very simple and easy to perform: just drop a drop of nano diamond solution onto the sample to be measured and let the water evaporate. After that, the laser will shine on the nano diamond itself to conduct the measurement, completely without affecting the research sample as well as the final result.

An image of an experimental device used in the research of a group of scientists at Sydney University of Technology - copyright by TS.Tran Trong Toan.

While the full-light methods using other micro particles have been published, the UTS team believes that none of the previous studies achieved high spatial sensitivity and resolution at the same time. new method.

" We are sure that our nanoscale thermometers can measure temperatures with extremely high sensitivity and spatial resolution, higher than all previous similar methods ," they claim.

Moreover, the mechanism of Anti-Stokes physics on molecular failure in nanoparticles diamond, TS. Tran Trong Toan believes that many potential applications other than temperature measurement are being opened: " One of its great examples is that it can be applied to create 'nano-sized air conditioners'. " . The extremely interesting point is, these micro-air conditioners work entirely with light energy, not using electricity as normal air conditioners in everyday life.

Dr. Tran Trong Toan is currently a lecturer at Sydney University of Technology, Australia (UTS). His research focuses on the field of Quantum Optics, Nano Optics, Solid Physics and Material Science. He received a bachelor's degree in Materials Science, Ho Chi Minh City University of Natural Sciences (Vietnam, 2008), a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering, National University of Singapore (Singapore, 2011), and a Ph.D. Ly, Sydney University of Technology, (Australia, 2018).

Dr. Tran Trong Toan won the Best Essay Prize at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia (2018) for his groundbreaking research work on quantum light sources from hexagonal Boron Nitride two-dimensional materials. His studies are published in the world's leading journals in the field of Quantum Optics, Quantum Physics and Materials Science, for example: Nature Nanotechnology, Science Advances, Nature Communications, Advanced Materials, Nano Letters , ACS Nano, Physical Review Applied .