Atomistic Model of Fluorescence Intermittency of Colloidal Quantum Dots

Voznyy, O.; Sargent, E. H.

Atomistic Model of Fluorescence Intermittency of Colloidal Quantum Dots

Type

Article

Authors

Voznyy, O.
Sargent, E. H.

KAUST Grant Number

KUS-11-009-21

Date

2014-04-16

Abstract

Optoelectronic applications of colloidal quantum dots demand a high emission efficiency, stability in time, and narrow spectral bandwidth. Electronic trap states interfere with the above properties but understanding of their origin remains lacking, inhibiting the development of robust passivation techniques. Here we show that surface vacancies improve the fluorescence yield compared to vacancy-free surfaces, while dynamic vacancy aggregation can temporarily turn fluorescence off. We find that infilling with foreign cations can stabilize the vacancies, inhibiting intermittency and improving quantum yield, providing an explanation of recent experimental observations. © 2014 American Physical Society.

Citation

Voznyy O, Sargent EH (2014) Atomistic Model of Fluorescence Intermittency of Colloidal Quantum Dots. Physical Review Letters 112. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.157401.

Acknowledgements

We thank Jonathan Owen and Joost VandeVondele for fruitful discussions. This publication is based in part on work supported by Grant No. KUS-11-009-21, made by King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), by the Ontario Research Fund Research Excellence Program, and by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada. Computations were performed on the BlueGene/Q supercomputer at the SciNet HPC Consortium provided through the Southern Ontario Smart Computing Innovation Platform (SOSCIP). The SOSCIP multi-university/industry consortium is funded by the Ontario Government and the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.