For the first time, researchers in Japan have directly mapped several components of the stress field surrounding an atomic-scale flaw in the crystal structure of diamond. Led by Tokuyuki Teraji at Japan’s National Institute for Materials Science, the team achieved its result using nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond, whose spin states respond differently to stress depending on how they are oriented relative to the stress field.

Published in Applied Physics Letters, the technique validates an 80-year-old theory about how miniature stress fields are distributed in diamond. It could also help improve the processes used to manufacture the high-quality diamond demanded by emerging technologies.