Non-blinking semiconductor nanocrystals

Xiaoyong Wang, Xiaofan Ren, Keith Kahen (), Megan A. Hahn, Manju Rajeswaran, Sara Maccagnano-Zacher, John Silcox, George E. Cragg, Alexander L. Efros () and Todd D. Krauss ()
Additional contact information
Xiaoyong Wang: Department of Chemistry,
Xiaofan Ren: Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York 14650, USA
Keith Kahen: Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York 14650, USA
Megan A. Hahn: Department of Chemistry,
Manju Rajeswaran: Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, New York 14650, USA
Sara Maccagnano-Zacher: School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14583, USA
John Silcox: School of Applied and Engineering Physics, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14583, USA
George E. Cragg: Naval Research Laboratory
Alexander L. Efros: Naval Research Laboratory
Todd D. Krauss: Department of Chemistry,

Nature, 2009, vol. 459, issue 7247, 686-689

Abstract: Non-blinking nanocrystals Semiconductor nanocrystals are useful in a number of applications such as biological single-molecule labelling, but the scope for further applications is severely limited by the fact that the nanocrystals 'blink': they turn on and off intermittently under continuous excitation. The cause of this is not yet well understood, but seems to be related to charging of the nanocrystal. But now the 'blinking' problem has been overcome by the use of a nanocrystalline CdZnSe core capped with a ZnSe semiconductor shell, in which the transition between ZnSe and CdSe is not abrupt, but radially graded. These nanocrystals emit continuously despite being charged, and theoretical modelling suggests that this is due to reduced efficiency of the interaction between the charge and excited electrons given by the soft confining potential. The resulting nanocrystals are not yet device-ready, but with further development could find use in a variety of applications, including biological imaging, lasers and solar cells.

Date: 2009
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DOI: 10.1038/nature08072

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