Luminescence properties of II/VI semiconductor colloidal nanocrystals at collective and single scales

Abstract

Colloidal nanocrystals are crystalline spheres of semiconductors of a few nanometers, obtained by chemical synthesis. At this size scale, lower than Bohr radius of the exciton, emission properties are dominated by quantum confinement effects and depend crucially on the nanocrystal radius, which can be controlled by adjusting the synthesis parameters. Nanocrystals present high photostability and good quantum efficiency, even at room temperature. Their emission wavelength can be tuned over the whole visible range, making them very attractive solid state light sources which are already used in optoelectronic devices or for biological labeling. The luminescence properties of CdSe colloidal nanocrystals synthesized at the Institute of Materials Science in Hanoi are presented. At collective scale, the emission properties reveal the synthesis quality. Temperature effects from ambient to 4 K on spectra and decay rates will be presented and analyzed in terms of emitting level fine structure. The study of CdSe colloidal quantum dots at the single emitter scale is of great interest as it reveals properties which are hidden by collective studies, such as luminescence "blinking", a random switching from a fluorescent to a non fluorescent state, which is closely related to the crystalline defects of a nanocrystal and its interaction with its environment. We will present the blinking properties of the prepared nanocrystals, and relate them to the nanocrystals synthesis quality and shell quality. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.