Sharp 683 nm Luminescence in Cubic Boron Nitride Nanocrystals Due to Mutually Charged Antisite Defects

The article considers a method of controlled synthesis under high pressure and temperature conditions of nanoscale cubic boron nitride crystals with an optical center and a narrow particle size distribution. The average particle size in the samples falls within the range of 10–80 nm and can be adjusted with a discreteness of about 10 nm. The photoluminescence spectra of nanocrystals do not have strong background radiation, but the main peak at 683 nm is bright and narrow. The calculations showed that luminescence is associated with a deviation from stoichiometry and the formation during phase transition of antisite point defect, where boron occupies the position of nitrogen, and the defect has a charge state of −1.