Diamonds have always been something to be admired because of their beauty, and they are now ready to be used in the critical field of space exploration.
Scientists from UNSW have designed an innovative maser device based on purple diamonds. It will have the potential to boost weak microwave signals originating from distant celestial objects or spacecraft, revolutionizing our space exploration techniques.
Boosting Signals from Deep Space
According to Interesting Engineering, an innovative maser device makes use of a lab-grown purple diamond that is capable of amplifying weak microwave signals by 1000 times.
These signals come from deep-space objects like pulsars, galaxies, and distant spacecraft like Voyager 1. The diamond can do this at room temperature, an extraordinary feat away from the very low temperatures used in the traditional masers.
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Room-Temperature Operation
Unlike any currently used maser technology, existing devices mostly rely on extreme cooling down to temperatures of around -269°C (-452°F).
The process, that would suppress electrical noise produced from moving electrons, is at once costly and technologically taxing. The new maser removes this roadblock.
"Our room-temperature solid-state maser amplifier avoids all the complication and cost of having to cool everything down to extremely low temperatures and is also much more compact," said UNSW researcher Dr. David Pla.
How the Purple Diamond Maser Works
To produce this cutting-edge maser, scientists synthesized nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in the diamond by introducing defects during its growth. The NV centers are crucial for the functionality of the maser.
The maser amplifies incoming microwave signals by applying a magnetic field and a green laser to the diamond's spin system.
"The microwaves enter the device and then the spins inside the diamond create copies of them, which in effect amplifies the microwave signals. Ideally, the microwave signals then come out much larger and with very little noise on top," explained Pla.
Applications Beyond Space Exploration
Although its main application is in space exploration, the room-temperature maser also has immense potential in defense technology, especially in radar systems.
Radars work by sending out electromagnetic radiation, which bounces off objects and returns to the radar system. More advanced maser technology would make these systems more sensitive, thus enabling them to pick up objects at a greater distance with higher accuracy.
The maser technology is promising but still needs further improvement. Some of the key areas that need to be enhanced include noise reduction and increasing the concentration of NV centers in the diamond.
In essence, we have to make the diamonds more purple. The purple color arises due to red light emission from NV centers. Increasing density to get darker samples produces more gain but also noise," Tom Day, the lead author of the study said.
On the other hand, with increased NV density, defects that may appear undesirable surface, present materials engineering challenges that scientists are tackling with intensity.
Within a few years, the first commercial version of this maser device may find its way onto the market and potentially change the face of space exploration, defense, and other areas.
The study published in Physical Review X has made it possible to reach another step forward in exploiting diamond-based technology for more useful applications.
