Direct Measurements of Magnetic Polarons in Cd1-xMnxSe Nanocrystals from Resonant Photoluminescence

Quantum dots for bone tissue engineering

In confronting the global prevalence of bone-related disorders, bone tissue engineering (BTE) has developed into a critical discipline, seeking innovative materials to revolutionize treatment paradigms. Quantum dots (QDs), nanoscale semiconductor particles with tunable optical properties, are at the cutting edge of improving bone regeneration. This comprehensive review delves into the multifaceted roles that QDs play within the realm of BTE, emphasizing their potential to not only revolutionize imaging but also to osteogenesis, drug delivery, antimicrobial strategies and phototherapy. The customizable nature of QDs, attributed to their size-dependent optical and electronic properties, has been leveraged to develop precise imaging modalities, enabling the visualization of bone growth and scaffold integration at an unprecedented resolution. Their nanoscopic scale facilitates targeted drug delivery systems, ensuring the localized release of therapeutics. QDs also possess the potential to combat infections at bone defect sites, preventing and improving bacterial infections. Additionally, they can be used in phototherapy to stimulate important bone repair processes and work well with the immune system to improve the overall healing environment. In combination with current trendy artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the development of bone organoids can also be combined with QDs. While QDs demonstrate considerable promise in BTE, the transition from laboratory research to clinical application is fraught with challenges. Concerns regarding the biocompatibility, long-term stability of QDs within the biological environment, and the cost-effectiveness of their production pose significant hurdles to their clinical adoption. This review summarizes the potential of QDs in BTE and highlights the challenges that lie ahead. By overcoming these obstacles, more effective, efficient, and personalized bone regeneration strategies will emerge, offering new hope for patients suffering from debilitating bone diseases.

Does Mn2+-Mn2+ Spin-Exchange Interaction Involve Mn2+ Luminescence of Mn2+-Doped/Concentrated Materials?

Mn2+-doped luminescent quantum dots play a vital role in the fields of optoelectronic materials and devices. The presence of five unpaired d electrons in Mn2+ ions facilitates spin-exchange interactions, profoundly influencing the spin state of the exciton and thereby impacting the optical behaviors. However, the involvement and specific effects of spin-exchange interactions on optical properties of Mn2+ in insulating bulk phosphors remain a subject of controversy, attributed to the scarcity of solid evidence and the interference of various factors. In this Perspective, we delve into the fundamentals and recent advancements concerning the Mn2+-Mn2+ spin-exchange interaction in Mn2+ luminescent materials. The discussion encompasses various aspects, such as types of magnetic coupling, the coupling mechanism in optical ground state and excited state, as well as effective measures for verification. This Perspective underscores the existing knowledge gaps in Mn2+-doped bulk phosphors, highlighting significant opportunities for further exploration and advancement in both fundamental and applied research within this domain.

Ultrafast Quenching of Excitons in the ZnxCd1-xS/ZnS Quantum Dots Doped with Mn2+ through Charge Transfer Intermediates Results in Manganese Luminescence

For the first time, a specific time-delayed peak was registered in the femtosecond transient absorption (TA) spectra of Zn_xCd_1−xS/ZnS (x~0.5) alloy quantum dots (QDs) doped with Mn²⁺, which was interpreted as the electrochromic Stark shift of the band-edge exciton. The time-delayed rise and decay kinetics of the Stark peak in the manganese-doped QDs significantly distinguish it from the kinetics of the Stark peak caused by exciton–exciton interaction in the undoped QDs. The Stark shift in the Mn²⁺-doped QDs developed at a 1 ps time delay in contrast to the instantaneous appearance of the Stark shift in the undoped QDs. Simultaneously with the development of the Stark peak in the Mn²⁺-doped QDs, stimulated emission corresponding to ⁴T₁-⁶A₁ Mn²⁺ transition was detected in the subpicosecond time domain. The time-delayed Stark peak in the Mn²⁺-doped QDs, associated with the development of an electric field in QDs, indicates the appearance of charge transfer intermediates in the process of exciton quenching by manganese ions, leading to the ultrafast Mn²⁺ excitation. The usually considered mechanism of the nonradiative energy transfer from an exciton to Mn²⁺ does not imply the development of an electric field in a QD. Femtosecond TA data were analyzed using a combination of empirical and computational methods. A kinetic scheme of charge transfer processes is proposed to explain the excitation of Mn²⁺. The kinetic scheme includes the reduction of Mn²⁺ by a 1Se electron and the subsequent oxidation of Mn¹⁺ with a hole, leading to the formation of an excited state of manganese.

Brightening of Dark States in CsPbBr3 Quantum Dots Caused by Light-Induced Magnetism

Lead halide perovskite quantum dots (QDs) have shown great potential for optoelectronic and quantum photonic applications. Although controversy remains about the electronic fine structures of bulk perovskites due to the strong spin-orbit coupling affecting the conduction bands, compelling evidence indicates that the ground states of perovskite QDs remain dark, limiting their applications in optoelectronic devices. Here, it is demonstrated that photoexcitation can induce large intrinsic magnetic fields in Mn-doped CsPbBr₃ perovskite QDs. Equivalent to applying an external magnetic field, the light-induced field causes giant Zeeman splitting to the bright triplet states and brightens the dark singlet ground state, thus effectively rendering a partially bright ground state in the doped QDs. These findings here may contribute to the understanding of the electronic fine structures in perovskite QDs and demonstrate a potential approach for creating semiconductor nanostructures that can serve as bright light sources.

Orientation of Individual Anisotropic Nanocrystals Identified by Polarization Fingerprint

The polarization of photoluminescence emitted from anisotropic nanocrystals directly reflects the symmetry of the eigenstates involved in the recombination process and can thus be considered as a characteristic feature of a nanocrystal. We performed polarization resolved magneto-photoluminescence spectroscopy on single colloidal Mn²⁺:CdSe/CdS core-shell quantum dots of wurtzite crystal symmetry. At zero magnetic field, a distinct linear polarization pattern is observed, while applying a magnetic field enforces circularly polarized emission with a characteristic saturation value below 100%. These polarization features are shown to act as a specific fingerprint of each individual nanocrystal. A model considering the orientation of the crystal c⃗ axis with respect to the optical axis and the magnetic field and taking into account the impact of magnetic doping is introduced and quantitatively explains our findings. We demonstrate that a careful analysis of the polarization state of single nanocrystal emission using the full set of Stokes parameters allows for identification of the complete three-dimensional orientation of the crystal anisotropy axis of an individual nanoobject in lab coordinates.

Enhanced exciton binding energy, Zeeman splitting and spin polarization in hybrid layered nanosheets comprised of (Cd, Mn)Se and nitrogen-doped graphene oxide: implication for semiconductor devices

The exciton properties of (Cd,Mn)Se-NrGO (nitrogen doped reduced graphene oxide) hybrid layered nanosheets have been studied in a magnetic field up to 10 T and compared to those of (Cd,Mn)Se nanosheets. The temperature dependent photoluminescence reveals the hybridization of inter-band exciton and intra-center Mn transition with enhancement of the binding energy of exciton-Mn hybridized state (80 meV with respect to 60 meV in (Cd,Mn)Se nanosheets) and increase of exciton-phonon coupling strength to 90 meV (with respect to 55 meV in (Cd,Mn)Se nanosheets). The circularly polarized magneto-photoluminescence at 2 K provides evidence for magnetic field induced exciton spin polarization and the realization of excitonic giant Zeeman splitting withg_effas high as 165.4 ± 10.3, much larger than in the case of (Cd,Mn)Se nanosheets (63.9 ± 6.6), promising for implementation in spin active semiconductor devices.

Light-Induced Paramagnetism in Colloidal Ag+-Doped CdSe Nanoplatelets

We describe a study of the magneto-optical properties of Ag⁺-doped CdSe colloidal nanoplatelets (NPLs) that were grown using a novel doping technique. In this work, we used magnetic circularly polarized luminescence and magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy to study light-induced magnetism for the first time in 2D solution-processed structures doped with nominally nonmagnetic Ag⁺ impurities. The excitonic circular polarization (P_X) and the exciton Zeeman splitting (ΔE_Z) were recorded as a function of the magnetic field (B) and temperature (T). Both ΔE_Z and P_X have a Brillouin-function-like dependence on B and T, verifying the presence of paramagnetism in Ag⁺-doped CdSe NPLs. The observed light-induced magnetism is attributed to the transformation of nonmagnetic Ag⁺ ions into Ag²⁺, which have a nonzero magnetic moment. This work points to the possibility of incorporating these nanoplatelets into spintronic devices, in which light can be used to control the spin injection.

Optically detected magnetic resonance in CdSe/CdMnS nanoplatelets

Core/shell CdSe/(Cd,Mn)S colloidal nanoplatelets containing magnetic Mn2+ ions are investigated by the optically detected magnetic resonance technique, combining 60 GHz microwave excitation and photoluminescence detection. Resonant heating of the Mn spin system is observed. We identify two mechanisms of optical detection, via variation of either the photoluminescence polarization or its intensity in an external magnetic field. The spin-lattice relaxation dynamics of the Mn spin system is measured and used for evaluation of the Mn concentration. In CdSe/(Cd,Zn,Mn)S nanoplatelets the addition of Zn in the shells significantly broadens the magnetic resonance, evidencing local strain.

Exploiting Functional Impurities for Fast and Efficient Incorporation of Manganese into Quantum Dots

The incorporation of manganese (Mn) ions into Cd(Zn)-chalcogenide QDs activates strong spin-exchange interactions between the magnetic ions and intrinsic QD excitons that have been exploited for color conversion, sunlight harvesting, electron photoemission, and advanced imaging and sensing. The ability to take full advantage of novel functionalities enabled by Mn dopants requires accurate control of doping levels over a wide range of Mn contents. This, however, still represents a considerable challenge. Specific problems include the difficulty in obtaining high Mn contents, considerable broadening of QD size dispersion during the doping procedure, and large batch-to-batch variations in the amount of incorporated Mn. Here, we show that these problems originate from the presence of unreacted cadmium (Cd) complexes whose abundance is linked to uncontrolled impurities participating in the QD synthesis. After identifying these impurities as secondary phosphines, we modify the synthesis by introducing controlled amounts of "functional" secondary phosphine species. This allows us to realize a regime of nearly ideal QD doping when incorporation of magnetic ions occurs solely via addition of Mn-Se units without uncontrolled deposition of Cd-Se species. Using this method, we achieve very high per-dot Mn contents (>30% of all cations) and thereby realize exceptionally strong exciton-Mn exchange coupling with g-factors of ∼600.

Magneto-Optics of Excitons Interacting with Magnetic Ions in CdSe/CdMnS Colloidal Nanoplatelets

Excitons in diluted magnetic semiconductors represent excellent probes for studying the magnetic properties of these materials. Various magneto-optical effects, which depend sensitively on the exchange interaction of the excitons with the localized spins of the magnetic ions can be used for probing. Here, we study core/shell CdSe/(Cd,Mn)S colloidal nanoplatelets hosting diluted magnetic semiconductor layers. The inclusion of the magnetic Mn²⁺ ions is evidenced by three magneto-optical techniques using high magnetic fields up to 15 T: polarized photoluminescence, optically detected magnetic resonance, and spin-flip Raman scattering. We show that the holes in the excitons play the dominant role in exchange interaction with magnetic ions. We suggest and test an approach for evaluation of the Mn²⁺ concentration based on the spin-lattice relaxation dynamics of the Mn²⁺ spin system.

Infrared optical absorption of magnetopolaron resonance states in graphene on the polar substrates

We study the infrared optical absorption of magnetopolaron resonance states in graphene in the strong magnetic field based on the Huybrechts's model, in which polaron states are formed due to the strong coupling between electrons and surface optical (SO) phonons induced by the polar substrate. We propose the special magnetopolaron states1/2(|1〉e±|1〉ph), namely, the superposition states between one SO phonon and the first-excited Landau level, which split into two branches of coupling modes and give rise to two optical absorption peaks with different intensities. Moreover, their intensities can be sensitively modulated by the magnetic field, the truncated wave-vector of SO phonon, polarity of substrate and internal distance between graphene and substrate. These results indicate that the structure of graphene laying on the polar substrate provide a good platform for exploring the polaron resonance states and magneto-optical transitions by infrared spectroscopy.

Increased static dielectric constant in ZnMnO and ZnCoO thin films with bound magnetic polarons

A novel small signal equivalent circuit model is proposed in the inversion regime of metal/(ZnO, ZnMnO, and ZnCoO) semiconductor/Si3N4 insulator/p-Si semiconductor (MSIS) structures to describe the distinctive nonlinear frequency dependent capacitance (C-F) and conductance (G-F) behaviour in the frequency range from 50 Hz to 1 MHz. We modelled the fully depleted ZnO thin films to extract the static dielectric constant (εr) of ZnO, ZnMnO, and ZnCoO. The extracted enhancement of static dielectric constant in magnetic n-type conducting ZnCoO (εr ≥ 13.0) and ZnMnO (εr ≥ 25.8) in comparison to unmagnetic ZnO (εr = 8.3-9.3) is related to the electrical polarizability of donor-type bound magnetic polarons (BMP) in the several hundred GHz range (120 GHz for CdMnTe). The formation of donor-BMP is enabled in n-type conducting, magnetic ZnO by the s-d exchange interaction between the electron spin of positively charged oxygen vacancies [Formula: see text] in the BMP center and the electron spins of substitutional Mn2+ and Co2+ ions in ZnMnO and ZnCoO, respectively. The BMP radius scales with the Bohr radius which is proportional to the static dielectric constant. Here we show how BMP overlap can be realized in magnetic n-ZnO by increasing its static dielectric constant and guide researchers in the field of transparent spintronics towards ferromagnetism in magnetic, n-ZnO.

Directed Exciton Magnetic Polaron Formation in a Single Colloidal Mn2+:CdSe/CdS Quantum Dot

One of the most prominent signatures of transition-metal doping in colloidal nanocrystals is the formation of charge carrier-induced magnetization of the dopant spin sublattice, called exciton magnetic polaron (EMP). Understanding the direction of EMP formation, however, is still a major obstacle. Here, we present a series of temperature-dependent photoluminescence studies on single colloidal Mn²⁺:CdSe/CdS core/shell quantum dots (QDs) performed in a vector magnetic field providing a unique insight into the interaction between individual excitons and numerous magnetic impurities. The energy of the QD emission and its full width at half-maximum are controlled by the interplay of EMP formation and statistical magnetic fluctuations, in excellent agreement with theory. Most important, we give the first direct demonstration that anisotropy effects-hypothesized for more than a decade-dominate the direction of EMP formation. Our findings reveal a pathway for directing the orientation of optically induced magnetization in colloidal nanocrystals.

Light Emitting Spin Active Electronic States in Ultra-Thin Mn Doped CdSe Layered Nanosheets

The layered nanosheets exhibit a variety of physical and optical properties originating from amalgamation of intra- and inter- layer electronic interactions, which makes them promising materials for advanced devices with varsatile controlling channels. In particular, the dilute magnetic semiconductor multilayered nanosheets have promising optical, electrical and magnetic properties that have been less explored so far. Here, the spin permissible optical properties from solvothermally grown Mn doped CdSe (thickness ~2.26 nm) multilayered nanosheets are reported on. The presence of multi-phase magnetic orderings with a sharp ferromagnetic transition at temperature ~48 K pertinent to the stabilization and co-existence of Mn²⁺ and Mn³⁺ based local phases have been observed from the (Cd,Mn)Se layered nanosheets corroborating to the x-ray absorption near edge structure, electron paramagnetic resonance, Raman scattering and magnetic measurements. The optical absorption and photoluminescence (PL) studies at room temperature affirm wide array of optical properties in the visible regime corresponding to the band edge and intriguing dopant-phase mediated spin approved transitions. The circularly polarized magneto-PL and life time analysis exhibits the spin-polarized fast radiative transitions confirming the presence of spin-active electronic states.

Excitonic pathway to photoinduced magnetism in colloidal nanocrystals with nonmagnetic dopants

Electronic doping of colloidal semiconductor nanostructures holds promise for future device concepts in optoelectronic and spin-based technologies. Ag⁺ is an emerging electronic dopant in III-V and II-VI nanostructures, introducing intragap electronic states optically coupled to the host conduction band. With its full 4d shell Ag⁺ is nonmagnetic, and the dopant-related luminescence is ascribed to decay of the conduction-band electron following transfer of the photoexcited hole to Ag⁺. This optical activation process and the associated modification of the electronic configuration of Ag⁺ remain unclear. Here, we trace a comprehensive picture of the excitonic process in Ag-doped CdSe nanocrystals and demonstrate that, in contrast to expectations, capture of the photohole leads to conversion of Ag⁺ to paramagnetic Ag²⁺. The process of exciton recombination is thus inextricably tied to photoinduced magnetism. Accordingly, we observe strong optically activated magnetism and diluted magnetic semiconductor behaviour, demonstrating that optically switchable magnetic nanomaterials can be obtained by exploiting excitonic processes involving nonmagnetic impurities.

Current-Induced Magnetic Polarons in a Colloidal Quantum-Dot Device

Electrical spin manipulation remains a central challenge for the realization of diverse spin-based information processing technologies. Motivated by the demonstration of confinement-enhanced sp-d exchange interactions in colloidal diluted magnetic semiconductor (DMS) quantum dots (QDs), such materials are considered promising candidates for future spintronic or spin-photonic applications. Despite intense research into DMS QDs, electrical control of their magnetic and magneto-optical properties remains a daunting goal. Here, we report the first demonstration of electrically induced magnetic polaron formation in any DMS, achieved by embedding Mn²⁺-doped CdSe/CdS core/shell QDs as the active layer in an electrical light-emitting device. Tracing the electroluminescence from cryogenic to room temperatures reveals an anomalous energy shift that reflects current-induced magnetization of the Mn²⁺ spin sublattice, that is, excitonic magnetic polaron formation. These electrically induced magnetic polarons exhibit an energy gain comparable to their optically excited counterparts, demonstrating that magnetic polaron formation is achievable by current injection in a solid-state device.

"Quantized" Doping of Individual Colloidal Nanocrystals Using Size-Focused Metal Quantum Clusters

The insertion of intentional impurities, commonly referred to as doping, into colloidal semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) is a powerful paradigm for tailoring their electronic, optical, and magnetic behaviors beyond what is obtained with size-control and heterostructuring motifs. Advancements in colloidal chemistry have led to nearly atomic precision of the doping level in both lightly and heavily doped QDs. The doping strategies currently available, however, operate at the ensemble level, resulting in a Poisson distribution of impurities across the QD population. To date, the synthesis of monodisperse ensembles of QDs individually doped with an identical number of impurity atoms is still an open challenge, and its achievement would enable the realization of advanced QD devices, such as optically/electrically controlled magnetic memories and intragap state transistors and solar cells, that rely on the precise tuning of the impurity states (i.e., number of unpaired spins, energy and width of impurity levels) within the QD host. The only approach reported to date relies on QD seeding with organometallic precursors that are intrinsically unstable and strongly affected by chemical or environmental degradation, which prevents the concept from reaching its full potential and makes the method unsuitable for aqueous synthesis routes. Here, we overcome these issues by demonstrating a doping strategy that bridges two traditionally orthogonal nanostructured material systems, namely, QDs and metal quantum clusters composed of a "magic number" of atoms held together by stable metal-to-metal bonds. Specifically, we use clusters composed of four copper atoms (Cu₄) capped with d-penicillamine to seed the growth of CdS QDs in water at room temperature. The elemental analysis, performed by electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, X-ray fluorescence, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, side by side with optical spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy measurements, indicates that each Cu:CdS QD in the ensemble incorporates four Cu atoms originating from one Cu₄ cluster, which acts as a "quantized" source of dopant impurities.