pith. sign in

arxiv: 1906.10526 · v1 · pith:UWVYC57Fnew · submitted 2019-06-24 · ❄️ cond-mat.mes-hall · physics.optics

Silicon-vacancy color centers in Si- and Si,P-doped nanodiamonds: thermal susceptibilities of photo luminescence band at 740 nm

Sumin Choi , Viatcheslav N. Agafonov , Valery A. Davydov , L.F. Kulikova , Taras Plakhotnik This is my paper

Pith reviewed 2026-05-25 17:43 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification ❄️ cond-mat.mes-hall physics.optics
keywords silicon-vacancy centersnanodiamondsphotoluminescencethermal susceptibilityzero-phonon linechemical dopingthermometry
0
0 comments X

The pith

Si-doped nanodiamonds show linear thermal shifts in SiV 740 nm band of 0.0126 nm/K for position and 0.062 nm/K for width.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The paper measures how temperature affects the photoluminescence of silicon-vacancy centers in nanodiamonds doped with silicon or silicon and phosphorus over 295 to 350 K. It reports linear changes in the zero-phonon line position, width, and relative amplitude for Si-doped samples, along with reduced changes when phosphorus is added as well. The work presents additional chemical doping as a way to control the centers' thermal response. It also notes that laser excitation can heat the particles intrinsically due to high defect concentration and low quantum yield. These results target applications in biological thermometry where temperature sensitivity must be known or tuned.

Core claim

Si-doped crystals reveal linear dependence of the SiV zero-phonon line position, width and relative amplitude with susceptibilities of 0.0126(4) nm/K, 0.062(2) nm/K and -0.037(2) K^{-1}, respectively. Si,P-doped nanodiamonds show significantly smaller (up to 35 % for the width) susceptibilities and prove control of SiV properties with additional chemical doping.

What carries the argument

The 740 nm spectral band of the silicon-vacancy zero-phonon line, whose position, width and amplitude are tracked versus temperature.

If this is right

  • The reported susceptibilities supply calibration data for nanodiamond thermometers operating near room temperature.
  • Phosphorus co-doping supplies a chemical route to lower the temperature response of the emitters by up to 35 percent.
  • Laser-induced heating must be accounted for when using high concentrations of SiV centers because of their low quantum yield.
  • Doping offers a practical handle for adjusting emitter stability in temperature-varying environments.

Where Pith is reading between the lines

These are editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

  • Lowered susceptibility from co-doping could reduce errors when mapping temperature gradients inside cells.
  • The same doping approach might be tested on other vacancy centers to obtain emitters with custom thermal coefficients.
  • Repeating the measurements with a non-laser temperature probe on single particles would separate intrinsic thermal response from any heating artifact.

Load-bearing premise

The observed linear changes in the 740 nm band are caused by temperature alone and are not appreciably altered by laser-induced local heating or sample-to-sample variations in defect concentration.

What would settle it

Measure the same spectral shifts while independently determining the actual temperature of the nanodiamonds, for example by varying laser power and checking whether the apparent susceptibilities remain constant.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 1906.10526 by L.F. Kulikova, Sumin Choi, Taras Plakhotnik, Valery A. Davydov, Viatcheslav N. Agafonov.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: FIG. 1. (a) TEM image of nanodiamonds. (b) Photoluminescence [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p001_1.png] view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: FIG. 2. Effects of temperature on optical properties of SiV cen [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p002_2.png] view at source ↗
Figure 3
Figure 3. Figure 3: FIG. 3. FWHM of the PSB in Si-doped diamond. a) Obtained at [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p003_3.png] view at source ↗
read the original abstract

We have characterized thermal susceptibilities of the spectral band at 740 nm of silicon-vacancy (SiV) centers in Si- and Si,P-doped nanodiamonds over a temperature range from 295 K to 350 K, which is of interest for thermometry in biological systems. Si-doped crystals reveal linear dependence of the SiV zero-phonon line position, width and relative amplitude with susceptibilities of 0.0126(4) nm/K, 0.062(2) nm/K and $-0.037(2)$ K$^{-1}$, respectively. Si,P-doped nanodiamonds show significantly smaller (up to 35 % for the width) susceptibilities and prove control of SiV properties with additional chemical doping. It is argued that a significant contribution to the heating of the nanodiamonds induced by laser light can be intrinsic due to a high concentration and low luminescence quantum yield of SiV centers.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Referee Report

2 major / 2 minor

Summary. The manuscript reports experimental measurements of the temperature dependence (295–350 K) of the photoluminescence band at 740 nm from silicon-vacancy (SiV) centers in Si-doped and Si,P-co-doped nanodiamonds. For Si-doped samples the authors report linear dependencies of the zero-phonon line position, width, and relative amplitude with fitted susceptibilities 0.0126(4) nm/K, 0.062(2) nm/K, and −0.037(2) K^{-1}, respectively; Si,P-doped samples exhibit up to 35 % smaller values. The work concludes that these susceptibilities are useful for biological thermometry and that laser-induced heating is an intrinsic consequence of high SiV concentration and low quantum yield.

Significance. If the reported linear susceptibilities can be shown to be intrinsic thermal properties rather than confounded by uncontrolled local heating, the results would supply concrete calibration data for nanoscale thermometry and demonstrate chemical tunability of SiV optical properties via co-doping. The explicit acknowledgment of laser heating as intrinsic is a point of transparency.

major comments (2)
  1. [Abstract] Abstract: the central claim that the quoted susceptibilities are intrinsic thermal properties of the SiV centers requires that the controlled stage temperature equals the actual local temperature of the nanodiamonds under laser excitation. The abstract states that laser heating is significant and intrinsic, yet no power-dependence measurements at fixed stage temperature, independent thermometry, or absorption corrections are described to decouple heating from the reported slopes. This assumption is load-bearing for both the absolute values and the Si versus Si,P comparison.
  2. [Results] Results section (linear-fit paragraph): the reported uncertainties (e.g., 0.0126(4) nm/K) are derived from linear fits, but without raw spectra, fitting procedures, or controls for possible sample-to-sample variations in SiV concentration (which would alter both absorption and heating), it is unclear whether the quoted precision reflects only statistical error or also systematic effects from local heating.
minor comments (2)
  1. [Methods] The temperature range is stated as 295–350 K in the abstract but the precise temperature steps and number of data points per fit are not given; adding this information would improve reproducibility.
  2. [Figures] Figure captions should explicitly state the laser power used for each spectrum and whether any power-dependent correction was applied.

Simulated Author's Rebuttal

2 responses · 0 unresolved

We thank the referee for the careful review and for highlighting the need to distinguish controlled stage temperature from possible local heating under laser excitation. We respond to each major comment below. Where the manuscript lacks supporting measurements, we propose textual revisions to clarify limitations rather than overstate the claims.

read point-by-point responses

  1. Referee: [Abstract] Abstract: the central claim that the quoted susceptibilities are intrinsic thermal properties of the SiV centers requires that the controlled stage temperature equals the actual local temperature of the nanodiamonds under laser excitation. The abstract states that laser heating is significant and intrinsic, yet no power-dependence measurements at fixed stage temperature, independent thermometry, or absorption corrections are described to decouple heating from the reported slopes. This assumption is load-bearing for both the absolute values and the Si versus Si,P comparison.

    Authors: We agree that the manuscript does not contain power-dependence measurements at fixed stage temperature, independent thermometry, or absorption corrections that would allow full decoupling of local heating from the reported slopes. The values are therefore effective susceptibilities measured versus controlled stage temperature and may incorporate a heating contribution that scales with SiV concentration. We will revise the abstract and discussion to state explicitly that the susceptibilities are effective quantities under the given excitation conditions, note the absence of decoupling data as a limitation for absolute thermometry, and clarify that the Si versus Si,P comparison remains internally consistent because both sample types were measured under identical conditions. revision: partial

  2. Referee: [Results] Results section (linear-fit paragraph): the reported uncertainties (e.g., 0.0126(4) nm/K) are derived from linear fits, but without raw spectra, fitting procedures, or controls for possible sample-to-sample variations in SiV concentration (which would alter both absorption and heating), it is unclear whether the quoted precision reflects only statistical error or also systematic effects from local heating.

    Authors: The quoted uncertainties are the standard errors returned by linear least-squares fits performed on the extracted zero-phonon-line positions, widths, and amplitudes. The manuscript does not present raw spectra, the precise fitting routines, or measurements of SiV concentration across samples. Consequently the reported errors are statistical only and do not incorporate possible systematic contributions arising from sample-to-sample differences in absorption and local heating. We will add a short paragraph in the results section that states these limitations and specifies that the uncertainties are statistical. revision: yes

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No significant circularity; direct experimental measurements of susceptibilities

full rationale

This is an experimental paper reporting linear fits to measured spectral shifts, widths, and amplitudes versus controlled temperature (295–350 K). The susceptibilities are obtained directly from data on Si- and Si,P-doped nanodiamonds with no equations, predictions, or derivations that reduce to fitted inputs, self-citations, or self-definitional relations. The abstract's note on possible intrinsic laser heating is an interpretive caveat, not a load-bearing derivation step. No self-citation chains, ansatzes, or renamings of known results appear in the provided text. The central claims rest on independent experimental observations rather than circular reduction.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 1 axioms · 0 invented entities

The study is purely experimental and introduces no free parameters, invented entities, or non-standard axioms beyond the domain assumption of linear temperature response over the stated interval.

axioms (1)
  • domain assumption The position, width, and relative amplitude of the 740 nm band vary linearly with temperature between 295 K and 350 K.
    The abstract states that linear dependence is observed and reports the fitted slopes as the thermal susceptibilities.

pith-pipeline@v0.9.0 · 5732 in / 1323 out tokens · 42772 ms · 2026-05-25T17:43:46.469488+00:00 · methodology

discussion (0)

Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.

Reference graph

Works this paper leans on

31 extracted references · 31 canonical work pages

  1. [1]

    Baffou , author H

    author author G. Baffou , author H. Rigneault , author D. Marguet , \ and\ author L. Jullien ,\ title title A critique of methods for temperature imaging in single cells , \ @noop journal journal Nature Methods \ volume 11 ,\ pages 899 ( year 2014 ) NoStop

    work page 2014

  2. [2]

    Jaque \ and\ author F

    author author D. Jaque \ and\ author F. Vetrone ,\ title title Luminescence nanothermometry , \ @noop journal journal Nanoscale \ volume 4 ,\ pages 4301--4326 ( year 2012 ) NoStop

    work page 2012

  3. [3]

    author author C. D. \ Brites , author P. P. \ Lima , author N. J. \ Silva , author A. Mill \'a n , author V. S. \ Amaral , author F. Palacio , \ and\ author L. D. \ Carlos ,\ title title Thermometry at the nanoscale , \ @noop journal journal Nanoscale \ volume 4 ,\ pages 4799--4829 ( year 2012 ) NoStop

    work page 2012

  4. [4]

    Vetrone , author R

    author author F. Vetrone , author R. Naccache , author A. Zamarr\'on , author A. Juarranz de la Fuente , author F. Sanz-Rodriguez , author L. Martinez Maestro , author E. Martin Rodriguez , author D. Jaque , author J. Garc \' a Sol \'e , \ and\ author J. A. \ Capobianco ,\ title title Temperature sensing using fluorescent nanothermometers , \ @noop journa...

    work page 2010

  5. [5]

    Kucsko , author P

    author author G. Kucsko , author P. Maurer , author N. Y. \ Yao , author M. Kubo , author H. Noh , author P. Lo , author H. Park , \ and\ author M. D. \ Lukin ,\ title title Nanometre-scale thermometry in a living cell , \ @noop journal journal Nature \ volume 500 ,\ pages 54 ( year 2013 ) NoStop

    work page 2013

  6. [6]

    Plakhotnik , author H

    author author T. Plakhotnik , author H. Aman , \ and\ author H.-C. \ Chang ,\ title title All-optical single-nanoparticle ratiometric thermometry with a noise floor of 0.3 K H z ^ -1/2 , \ @noop journal journal Nanotechnology \ volume 26 ,\ pages 245501 ( year 2015 ) NoStop

    work page 2015

  7. [7]

    author author D. M. \ Toyli , author F. Charles , author D. J. \ Christle , author V. V. \ Dobrovitski , \ and\ author D. D. \ Awschalom ,\ title title Fluorescence thermometry enhanced by the quantum coherence of single spins in diamond , \ @noop journal journal Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A \ volume 110 ,\ pages 8417--8421 ( year 2013 ) NoStop

    work page 2013

  8. [8]

    author author C. T. \ Nguyen , author R. E. \ Evans , author A. Sipahigil , author M. K. \ Bhaskar , author D. D. \ Sukachev , author V. N. \ Agafonov , author V. A. \ Davydov , author L. F. \ Kulikova , author F. Jelezko , \ and\ author M. D. \ Lukin ,\ title title All-optical nanoscale thermometry with silicon-vacancy centers in diamond , \ @noop journa...

    work page 2018

  9. [9]

    \ Fan , author I

    author author J.-W. \ Fan , author I. Cojocaru , author J. Becker , author I. V. \ Fedotov , author M. H. A. \ Alkahtani , author A. Alajlan , author S. Blakley , author M. Rezaee , author A. Lyamkina , author Y. N. \ Palyanov , et al. ,\ title title Germanium-vacancy color center in diamond as a temperature sensor , \ @noop journal journal ACS Photonics ...

    work page 2018

  10. [10]

    u pper , author T. L \

    author author M. Alkahtani , author I. Cojocaru , author X. Liu , author T. Herzig , author J. Meijer , author J. K \"u pper , author T. L \"u hmann , author A. V. \ Akimov , \ and\ author P. R. \ Hemmer ,\ title title Tin-vacancy in diamonds for luminescent thermometry , \ @noop journal journal Appl. Phys. Lett. \ volume 112 ,\ pages 241902 ( year 2018 ) NoStop

    work page 2018

  11. [11]

    Neu , author M

    author author E. Neu , author M. Agio , \ and\ author C. Becher ,\ title title Photophysics of single silicon vacancy centers in diamond: implications for single photon emission , \ @noop journal journal Optics Express \ volume 20 ,\ pages 19956--19971 ( year 2012 ) NoStop

    work page 2012

  12. [12]

    Jantzen , author A

    author author U. Jantzen , author A. B. \ Kurz , author D. S. \ Rudnicki , author C. Sch \"a fermeier , author K. D. \ Jahnke , author U. L. \ Andersen , author V. A. \ Davydov , author V. N. \ Agafonov , author A. Kubanek , author L. J. \ Rogers , et al. ,\ title title Nanodiamonds carrying silicon-vacancy quantum emitters with almost lifetime-limited li...

    work page 2016

  13. [13]

    Li , author Y

    author author K. Li , author Y. Zhou , author A. Rasmita , author I. Aharonovich , \ and\ author W. Gao ,\ title title Nonblinking emitters with nearly lifetime-limited linewidths in cvd nanodiamonds , \ @noop journal journal Phys. Rev. Appl. \ volume 6 ,\ pages 024010 ( year 2016 ) NoStop

    work page 2016

  14. [14]

    author author T. D. \ Merson , author S. Castelletto , author I. Aharonovich , author A. Turbic , author T. J. \ Kilpatrick , \ and\ author A. M. \ Turnley ,\ title title Nanodiamonds with silicon vacancy defects for nontoxic photostable fluorescent labeling of neural precursor cells , \ @noop journal journal Opt. Lett. \ volume 38 ,\ pages 4170--4173 ( y...

    work page 2013

  15. [15]

    Zhu , author J

    author author Y. Zhu , author J. Li , author W. Li , author Y. Zhang , author X. Yang , author N. Chen , author Y. Sun , author Y. Zhao , author C. Fan , \ and\ author Q. Huang ,\ title title The biocompatibility of nanodiamonds and their application in drug delivery systems , \ @noop journal journal Theranostics \ volume 2 ,\ pages 302 ( year 2012 ) NoStop

    work page 2012

  16. [16]

    Zhang , author S

    author author X. Zhang , author S. Wang , author M. Liu , author J. Hui , author B. Yang , author L. Tao , \ and\ author Y. Wei ,\ title title Surfactant-dispersed nanodiamond: biocompatibility evaluation and drug delivery applications , \ @noop journal journal Toxicol. Res. \ volume 2 ,\ pages 335--342 ( year 2013 ) NoStop

    work page 2013

  17. [17]

    Liu , author Z

    author author Y. Liu , author Z. Gu , author J. L. \ Margrave , \ and\ author V. N. \ Khabashesku ,\ title title Functionalization of nanoscale diamond powder: fluoro-, alkyl-, amino-, and amino acid-nanodiamond derivatives , \ @noop journal journal Chem. Mater. \ volume 16 ,\ pages 3924--3930 ( year 2004 ) NoStop

    work page 2004

  18. [18]

    Lagomarsino , author F

    author author S. Lagomarsino , author F. Gorelli , author M. Santoro , author N. Fabbri , author A. Hajeb , author S. Sciortino , author L. Palla , author C. Czelusniak , author M. Massi , author F. Taccetti , et al. ,\ title title Robust luminescence of the silicon-vacancy center in diamond at high temperatures , \ @noop journal journal AIP Advances \ vo...

    work page 2015

  19. [19]

    author author K. D. \ Jahnke , author A. Sipahigil , author J. M. \ Binder , author M. W. \ Doherty , author M. Metsch , author L. J. \ Rogers , author N. B. \ Manson , author M. D. \ Lukin , \ and\ author F. Jelezko ,\ title title Electron--phonon processes of the silicon-vacancy centre in diamond , \ @noop journal journal New J. Phys. \ volume 17 ,\ pag...

    work page 2015

  20. [20]

    Dragounov \'a , author Z

    author author K. Dragounov \'a , author Z. Pot c ek , author S . Potock \`y , author Z. Bryknar , \ and\ author A. Kromka ,\ title title Determination of temperature dependent parameters of zero-phonon line in photo-luminescence spectrum of silicon-vacancy centre in cvd diamond thin films , \ @noop journal journal J. Electr. Eng. \ volume 68 ,\ pages 74--...

    work page 2017

  21. [21]

    Neu , author C

    author author E. Neu , author C. Hepp , author M. Hauschild , author S. Gsell , author M. Fischer , author H. Sternschulte , author D. Steinm \"u ller-Nethl , author M. Schreck , \ and\ author C. Becher ,\ title title Low-temperature investigations of single silicon vacancy colour centres in diamond , \ @noop journal journal New J. Phys. \ volume 15 ,\ pa...

    work page 2013

  22. [22]

    Choi , author V

    author author S. Choi , author V. N. \ Agafonov , author V. A. \ Davydov , \ and\ author T. Plakhotnik ,\ title title Ultrasensitive all-optical thermometry using nanodiamonds with high concentration of silicon-vacancy centers and multiparametric data analysis , \ @noop journal journal ACS Photonics \ volume 6 ,\ pages 1387--1392 ( year 2019 ) NoStop

    work page 2019

  23. [23]

    Koizumi , author M

    author author S. Koizumi , author M. Kamo , author Y. Sato , author S. Mita , author A. Sawabe , author A. Reznik , author C. Uzan-Saguy , \ and\ author R. Kalish ,\ title title Growth and characterization of phosphorus doped n-type diamond thin films , \ @noop journal journal Diam. Rel. Mater. \ volume 7 ,\ pages 540--544 ( year 1998 ) NoStop

    work page 1998

  24. [24]

    author author J. F. \ Prins ,\ title title Ion-implanted n-type diamond: electrical evidence , \ @noop journal journal Diam. Rel. Mater. \ volume 4 ,\ pages 580--585 ( year 1995 ) NoStop

    work page 1995

  25. [25]

    Jones , author J

    author author R. Jones , author J. Lowther , \ and\ author J. Goss ,\ title title Limitations to n-type doping in diamond: The phosphorus-vacancy complex , \ @noop journal journal Appl. Phys. Lett. \ volume 69 ,\ pages 2489--2491 ( year 1996 ) NoStop

    work page 1996

  26. [26]

    author author V. A. \ Davydov , author A. Rakhmanina , author S. Lyapin , author I. Ilichev , author K. N. \ Boldyrev , author A. Shiryaev , \ and\ author V. Agafonov ,\ title title Production of nano-and microdiamonds with si-v and nv luminescent centers at high pressures in systems based on mixtures of hydrocarbon and fluorocarbon compounds , \ @noop jo...

    work page 2014

  27. [27]

    Feng \ and\ author B

    author author T. Feng \ and\ author B. D. \ Schwartz ,\ title title Characteristics and origin of the 1.681 e V luminescence center in chemical-vapor-deposited diamond films , \ @noop journal journal J. Appl. Phys. \ volume 73 ,\ pages 1415--1425 ( year 1993 ) NoStop

    work page 1993

  28. [28]

    author author A. V. \ Turukhin , author C.-H. \ Liu , author A. A. \ Gorokhovsky , author R. R. \ Alfano , \ and\ author W. Phillips ,\ title title Picosecond photoluminescence decay of S i-doped chemical-vapor-deposited diamond film , \ @noop journal journal Phys. Rev. B \ volume 54 ,\ pages 16448--16451 ( year 1996 ) NoStop

    work page 1996

  29. [29]

    Plakhotnik \ and\ author H

    author author T. Plakhotnik \ and\ author H. Aman ,\ title title N V -centers in nanodiamonds: How good they are , \ @noop journal journal Diam. Rel. Mater. \ volume 82 ,\ pages 87--95 ( year 2018 ) NoStop

    work page 2018

  30. [30]

    Chapman \ and\ author T

    author author R. Chapman \ and\ author T. Plakhotnik ,\ title title Quantitative luminescence microscopy on nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond: Saturation effects under pulsed excitation , \ @noop journal journal Chem. Phys. Lett. \ volume 507 ,\ pages 190--194 ( year 2011 ) NoStop

    work page 2011

  31. [31]

    Daun \ and\ author S

    author author K. Daun \ and\ author S. Huberman ,\ title title Influence of particle curvature on transition regime heat conduction from aerosolized nanoparticles , \ @noop journal journal Int. J. Heat Mass Transf. \ volume 55 ,\ pages 7668--7676 ( year 2012 ) NoStop

    work page 2012