Nanodiamond arrays created with biomolecules

MIT Technology Review : Flawed nanodiamonds can be used to trap, release, and manipulate photons. Because they can perform all those functions at room temperature, they could prove valuable in quantum computing. Although creating individual nanodiamonds is easy, it is extremely difficult to arrange them into the closely packed arrays necessary for information processing. To simplify the creation of such arrays, a team led by Andreas Albrecht of Ulm University in Germany has applied a technique known as DNA origami . The researchers coated nanodiamonds with a specialized protein that bonded with the proteins on other nanodiamonds to form a hexagonal pattern. The process currently creates very small clusters, but Albrecht believes it is the first step toward making the kinds of arrays needed for quantum computing.