Exciton Transfer in Array of Epitaxially Connected Nanocrystals

Recently, epitaxially connected at facets semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) have been introduced to fascilitate the electron transport between nanocrystals. To fully deploy their potential, a better understanding of the exciton transfer between connected NCs is needed. We go beyond the two well-known transfer mechanisms suggested by Förster and Dexter and propose a third mechanism of exciton tandem tunneling. The tandem tunneling occurs through the intermediate state in which the electron and hole are in different NCs. The corresponding rate for exciton hops is larger than the Dexter rate and for Si is even much larger that the Förster one.

The influence of surface passivation on electronic energy relaxation dynamics of CdSe and CdSe/CdS nanocrystals studied using visible and near infrared transient absorption spectroscopy

Charge carrier relaxation dynamics of electronically excited CdSe and CdSe/CdS core/shell nanocrystals (NCs) were studied using femtosecond time-resolved transient absorption spectroscopy, employing both visible and near-infrared (NIR) probe laser pulses. Following 400 nm excitation, the combination of visible and NIR laser probe pulses were used to determine the influence of surface passivation on electronic relaxation dynamics for nanocrystals overcoated with either organic ligands or inorganic semiconductors. In particular, low-energy NIR photons were used to isolate transient absorption signals due to either electron and hole intraband transitions. Four relaxation components were detected for CdSe NCs passivated by organic molecules: (1) picosecond hole relaxation; (2) electron deep trapping; (3) electron surface trapping; and (4) exciton radiative recombination. Based on TA data collected over a broad energy range, electron deep trapping at Se(2-) sites was suppressed for CdSe NCs passivated by inorganic (CdS) semiconducting materials. By comparing the time-dependent transient absorption data of a series of CdSe/CdS NCs with different shell thicknesses, evidence for the transition from Type-I to quasi Type-II NCs was obtained. These data illustrate the sensitivity of femtosecond time-resolved transient absorption measurements carried out over visible and near infrared probe energies for determining the influence of nanocrystal structure on electronic relaxation dynamics.

The influence of applied magnetic fields on the optical properties of zero- and one-dimensional CdSe nanocrystals

Shape-dependent exciton relaxation dynamics of CdSe 0-D nanocrystals and 1-D nanorods were studied using low-temperature (4.2 K), time-resolved and intensity-integrated magneto-photoluminscence (MPL) spectroscopy. Analysis of the average MPL rate constants from several different nanocrystal quantum dots and rods excited by 400 nm light in applied magnetic fields up to 17.5 T revealed size-dependent energy gaps separating bright and dark exciton fine-structure states. For 1-D nanorods under strong cross-sectional confinement and large length-to-diameter aspect ratios, efficient mixing of bright and dark exciton states was achieved using relatively low applied field strengths (≤4 T). The effect was attributed, in part, to decreased confinement of CdSe hole states associated with the long axis of the nanorod, which resulted in reduction of the energy gaps separating the bright and dark states. Increased control over the angle formed between the applied field vectors and the nanocrystal c-axis led to more efficient and uniform mixing of nanorod exciton states than for quantum dots. The findings suggest 1-D nanostructures are advantageous over 0-D ones for field-responsive applications.