Exchange interaction and phonon confinement in CdSe quantum dots

A Comparative Study of the Band-Edge Exciton Fine Structure in Zinc Blende and Wurtzite CdSe Nanocrystals

In this paper, we studied the role of the crystal structure in spheroidal CdSe nanocrystals on the band-edge exciton fine structure. Ensembles of zinc blende and wurtzite CdSe nanocrystals are investigated experimentally by two optical techniques: fluorescence line narrowing (FLN) and time-resolved photoluminescence. We argue that the zero-phonon line evaluated by the FLN technique gives the ensemble-averaged energy splitting between the lowest bright and dark exciton states, while the activation energy from the temperature-dependent photoluminescence decay is smaller and corresponds to the energy of an acoustic phonon. The energy splittings between the bright and dark exciton states determined using the FLN technique are found to be the same for zinc blende and wurtzite CdSe nanocrystals. Within the effective mass approximation, we develop a theoretical model considering the following factors: (i) influence of the nanocrystal shape on the bright-dark exciton splitting and the oscillator strength of the bright exciton, and (ii) shape dispersion in the ensemble of the nanocrystals. We show that these two factors result in similar calculated zero-phonon lines in zinc blende and wurtzite CdSe nanocrystals. The account of the nanocrystals shape dispersion allows us to evaluate the linewidth of the zero-phonon line.

Enhanced Emission from Bright Excitons in Asymmetrically Strained Colloidal CdSe/CdxZn1-xSe Quantum Dots

Colloidal CdSe quantum dots (QDs) designed with a high degree of asymmetric internal strain have recently been shown to host a number of desirable optical properties including subthermal room-temperature line widths, suppressed spectral diffusion, and high photoluminescence (PL) quantum yields. It remains an open question, however, whether they are well-suited for applications requiring emission of identical single photons. Here we measure the low-temperature PL dynamics and the polarization-resolved fluorescence line narrowing spectra from ensembles of these strained QDs. Our spectroscopy reveals the radiative recombination rates of bright and dark excitons, the relaxation rate between the two, and the energy spectra of the quantized acoustic phonons in the QDs that can contribute to relaxation processes. In comparison to conventional colloidal CdSe/ZnS core/shell QDs, we find that in asymmetrically strained CdSe QDs over six times more light is emitted directly by the bright exciton. These results are therefore encouraging for the prospects of chemically synthesized colloidal QDs as emitters of single indistinguishable photons.

Polarized emission of CdSe nanocrystals in magnetic field: the role of phonon-assisted recombination of the dark exciton

The recombination dynamics and spin polarization of excitons in CdSe nanocrystals synthesized in a glass matrix are investigated using polarized photoluminescence in high magnetic fields up to 30 Tesla. The dynamics are accelerated by increasing temperature and magnetic field, confirming the dark exciton nature of low-temperature photoluminescence (PL). The circularly polarized PL in magnetic fields reveals several unusual appearances: (i) a spectral dependence of the polarization degree, (ii) its low saturation value, and (iii) a stronger intensity of the Zeeman component which is higher in energy. The latter feature is the most surprising being in contradiction with the thermal population of the exciton spin sublevels. The same contradiction was previously observed in the ensemble of wet-chemically synthesized CdSe nanocrystals but was not understood. We present a theory which explains all the observed features and shows that the inverted ordering of the circularly polarized PL maxima from the ensemble of nanocrystals is a result of competition between the zero phonon (ZPL) and one optical phonon-assisted (1PL) emission of the dark excitons. The essential aspects of the theoretical model are different polarization properties of the dark exciton emission via ZPL and 1PL recombination channels and the inhomogeneous broadening of the PL spectrum from the ensemble of nanocrystals exceeding the optical phonon energy.

Polarons Explain Luminescence Behavior of Colloidal Quantum Dots at Low Temperature

Luminescence properties of colloidal quantum dots have found applications in imaging, displays, light-emitting diodes and lasers, and single photon sources. Despite wide interest, several experimental observations in low-temperature photoluminescence of these quantum dots, such as the short lifetime on the scale of microseconds and a zero-longitudinal optical phonon line in spectrum, both attributed to a dark exciton in literature, remain unexplained by existing models. Here we propose a theoretical model including the effect of solid-state environment on luminescence. The model captures both coherent and incoherent interactions of band-edge exciton with phonon modes. Our model predicts formation of dressed states by coupling of the exciton with a confined acoustic phonon mode, and explains the short lifetime and the presence of the zero-longitudinal optical phonon line in the spectrum. Accounting for the interaction of the exciton with bulk phonon modes, the model also explains the experimentally observed temperature-dependence of the photoluminescence decay dynamics and temperature-dependence of the photoluminescence spectrum.

Observation of the full exciton and phonon fine structure in CdSe/CdS dot-in-rod heteronanocrystals

Light emission of semiconductor nanocrystals is a complex process, depending on many factors, among which are the quantum mechanical size confinement of excitons (coupled electron-hole pairs) and the influence of confined phonon modes and the nanocrystal surface. Despite years of research, the nature of nanocrystal emission at low temperatures is still under debate. Here we unravel the different optical recombination pathways of CdSe/CdS dot-in-rod systems that show an unprecedented number of narrow emission lines upon resonant laser excitation. By using self-assembled, vertically aligned rods and application of crystallographically oriented high magnetic fields, the origin of all these peaks is established. We observe a clear signature of an acoustic-phonon assisted transition, separated from the zero-phonon emission and optical-phonon replica, proving that nanocrystal light emission results from an intricate interplay between bright (optically allowed) and dark (optically forbidden) exciton states, coupled to both acoustic and optical phonon modes.

Charge carrier trapping and acoustic phonon modes in single CdTe nanowires

Semiconductor nanostructures produced by wet chemical synthesis are extremely heterogeneous, which makes single particle techniques a useful way to interrogate their properties. In this paper the ultrafast dynamics of single CdTe nanowires are studied by transient absorption microscopy. The wires have lengths of several micrometers and lateral dimensions on the order of 30 nm. The transient absorption traces show very fast decays, which are assigned to charge carrier trapping into surface defects. The time constants vary for different wires due to differences in the energetics and/or density of surface trap sites. Measurements performed at the band edge compared to the near-IR give slightly different time constants, implying that the dynamics for electron and hole trapping are different. The rate of charge carrier trapping was observed to slow down at high carrier densities, which was attributed to trap-state filling. Modulations due to the fundamental and first overtone of the acoustic breathing mode were also observed in the transient absorption traces. The quality factors for these modes were similar to those measured for metal nanostructures, and indicate a complex interaction with the environment.

Detection of bright trion states using the fine structure emission of single CdSe/ZnS colloidal quantum dots

We report direct observation of the lowest two states of the band-edge exciton fine structure in the photoluminescence from single CdSe/ZnS core/shell nanocrystals at cryogenic temperatures. The temperature dependence of this spectral fingerprint reveals exciton spin relaxation rates as low as 10 micros(-1). The fine structure is also dependent on the nanocrystal charge state facilitating the identification of a bright negatively charged trion state with a quantum yield comparable to that of neutral emission.

Universal role of discrete acoustic phonons in the low-temperature optical emission of colloidal quantum dots

Multiple energy scales contribute to the radiative properties of colloidal quantum dots, including magnetic interactions, crystal field splitting, Pauli exclusion, and phonons. Identification of the exact physical mechanism which couples first to the dark ground state of colloidal quantum dots, inducing a significant reduction in the radiative lifetime at low temperatures, has thus been under significant debate. Here we present measurements of this phenomenon on a variety of materials as well as on colloidal heterostructures. These show unambiguously that the dominant mechanism is coupling of the ground state to a confined acoustic phonon, and that this mechanism is universal.

Direct observation of confined acoustic phonons in the photoluminescence spectra of a single CdSe-CdS-ZnS core-shell-shell nanocrystal

We report on the direct observation of confined acoustic phonons in the photoluminescence spectra of single CdSe-CdS-ZnS nanocrystals, whose ligands were exchanged to poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) before they were embedded in a PEO matrix. Modeling a nanocrystal as an elastic sphere, the confined acoustic modes can be assigned to purely radial vibrations: the breathing mode and its two first radial harmonics. In addition to acoustic modes, we also observe longitudinal optical modes of the core material and, remarkably, also of both shell materials.

Nonlinear optical approach to multiexciton relaxation dynamics in quantum dots

Unlike the majority of molecular systems quantum dots can accommodate multiple excitations, which is a particularly important attribute for potential lasing applications. We demonstrate in this work the concept of using nth order nonlinear spectroscopies in the transient grating configuration as a means of selectively exciting (n-1)/2 excitons in a semiconductor and probing the subsequent relaxation dynamics. We report a direct observation of multiparticle dynamics on ultrashort time scales through comparison of third and fifth order experiments for CdSe colloidal quantum dots. Time constants associated with multiexciton recombination and depopulation dynamics are reported. Deviation from a Poisson model for the distribution of photoexcited excitons, biexcitons, and triexcitons is also discussed.

Mechanism and Origin of Exciton Spin Relaxation in CdSe Nanorods

The dynamics of exciton spin relaxation in CdSe nanorods of various sizes and shapes are measured by an ultrafast transient polarization grating technique. The measurement of the third-order transient grating (3-TG) signal utilizing linear cross-polarized pump pulses enables us to monitor the history of spin relaxation among the bright exciton states with a total angular momentum of F = +/-1. From the measured exciton spin relaxation dynamics, it is found that the effective mechanism of exciton spin relaxation is sensitive to the size of the nanorod. Most of the measured cross-polarized 3-TG signals show single-exponential spin relaxation dynamics, while biexponential spin relaxation dynamics are observed in the nanorod of the largest diameter. This analysis suggests that a direct exciton spin flip process between the bright exciton states with F = +/-1 is the dominant spin relaxation mechanism in small nanocrystals, and an indirect spin flip via the dark states with F = +/-2 contributes as the size of the nanocrystal increases. This idea is examined by simulations of 3-TG signals with a kinetic model for exciton spin relaxation considering the states in the exciton fine structure. Also, it is revealed that the rate of exciton spin relaxation has a strong correlation with the diameter, d, of the nanorod, scaled by the power law of 1/d4, rather than other shape parameters such as length, volume, or aspect ratio.

Nanocrystal shape and the mechanism of exciton spin relaxation

The rate of exciton spin relaxation (flips) between the bright exciton states (F = +/-1) of CdSe nanocrystals is reported as a function of shape, for dots and nanorods. The spin relaxation is measured using an ultrafast transient grating method with a crossed linearly polarization sequence. It is found that the spin relaxation rate depends on the radius, not length, of the nanocrystals. That observation is explained by deriving an expression for the electronic coupling matrix element that mixes the bright exciton states.

Cavity QED with semiconductor nanocrystals

We report on a strongly coupled cavity quantum electrodynamic (CQED) system consisting of a CdSe nanocrystal coupled to a single photon mode of a polymer microsphere. The strong exciton-photon coupling is manifested by the observation of a cavity mode splitting variant Planck's over 2piOmega(exp) between 30 und 45 microeV and photon lifetime measurements of the coupled exciton-photon state. The single photon mode is isolated by lifting the mode degeneracy in a slightly deformed microsphere cavity and addressing it by high-resolution imaging spectroscopy. This cavity mode is coupled to a localized exciton of an anisotropically shaped CdSe nanocrystal that emits highly polarized light in resonance to the cavity mode and that was placed in the maximum electromagnetic field close to the microsphere surface. The exciton confined in the CdSe nanorod exhibits an optical transition dipole moment much larger than that of atoms, the standard system for CQED experiments, and a low-temperature homogeneous line width much narrower than the high-Q cavity mode width. The observation of strong coupling in a colloidal semiconductor nanocrystal-cavity system opens the way to study fundamental quantum-optics phenomena and to implement quantum information processing concepts that work in the visible spectral range and are based on solid-state nanomaterials.

Exciton fine structure in single CdSe nanorods

We study the optical properties of excitons in one-dimensional (1D) nanostructures at low temperatures. In single CdSe/ZnS core-shell nanorods we observe a fine structure splitting and explain it by exchange interaction. Two peaks are observed with different degrees of linear polarization of DLP<0.85 and DLP>0.95. For small nanorod radii R< or =a(B)/2, an increase in the photoluminescence decay time is found when the temperature increases from 10 to 80 K. The observations are explained by a radius-dependent change in the symmetry of the 1D-exciton ground state which transforms from a dark state into bright states below a critical radius of R(crit) approximately 3.7 nm.

Temperature dependence of the luminescence lifetime of single CdSe/ZnS quantum dots

We study the temperature dependence of the luminescence decay of single CdSe/ZnS quantum dots between 2 and 140 K. For the first time, we observe a biexponential decay which was completely hidden in ensemble measurements. We find that the long time component strongly depends on temperature. This demonstrates that the band edge luminescence arises from two thermally mixed fine structure states, the dark ground state and the lowest bright one. To interpret our results, we derive the analytical expressions for the decay using a three level model. Fitting the experimental data leads directly to the lifetime of the states as well as their energy splitting.

Quantum dots as dynamical systems

Quantum dots show a range of time-dependent behaviours. We show that the polarity of II-VI nanoparticles has important dynamical implications for electronic, vibrational and other phenomena. Polarity-dependent phenomena are found even for nearly spherical stoichiometric clusters of ZnO and ZnS in studies based on interatomic potentials or on a plane-wave density-functional approach. We find a substantial dipole moment for free nanoparticles, whether of the zinc blende or wurtzite structure. This dipole causes a highly non-uniform spin-density distribution on electronic excitation or after a change in the dot's electronic charge state. The spin density of the triplet exciton shows that the dipole aligns so as to reduce the dipole moment in the electronically excited state. The polarity of II-VI dots also affects their vibrational properties. High- and low-frequency tails of the vibration density of states arise from modes strongly localized at surface atoms, near the poles of the dipole. These features, first noted for free clusters, also hold for particles embedded in a wide-gap dielectric, a-SiO(2). We present the results of molecular dynamics of the ZnS particle embedded into the silica glass, and consider the role played by the soft modes in energy-dissipation processes such as dephasing during non-radiative recombination of excitons, and energy transfer from the dot to the matrix.