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Research Highlight

Photoluminescence Enhancement of Single Quantum Dots in Zero Mode Waveguides

Photoluminescence Enhancement of Single Quantum Dots in Zero Mode Waveguides
PL intensity enhancement and blinking suppression of single QDs in Al-ZMW.
Left: PL intensity time trace of a single QD immobilized on glass.
Right: PL intensity time trace of single QD in Al illustrating the decrease in blinking. Blue line is used to distinguish on/off blinking events.

Scientific Achievement

Confinement of core/shell quantum dots (QDs) in aluminum zero mode waveguides (Al-ZMWs) exhibited photoluminescence (PL) enhancement, blinking suppression, and a 15-fold increase in biexciton quantum yield.

Significance and Impact

Coupling QDs and plasmonic nanostructures leads to changes in the optical and photophysical properties of QDs. Multiphoton emission in QDs has shown promise for applications in areas where materials of high optical gain are desired and in quantum computing.

Research Details

– 200nm diameter AL-ZMWs were fabricated in 100nm thick Al films using a combination of electron beam lithography and a lift-off process. – Time-correlated photoluminescence spectroscopy was used to study the effects of ZMWs on the photophysical properties of core-shell QDs.   Abdullah Al Masud, S. M. Nayeem Arefin, Fatema Fairooz, Xu Fu, Faruk Moonschi, Bernadeta R. Srijanto, Khaga Raj Neupane, Surya Aryal, Rosemary Calabro, Doo-Young Kim, C. Patrick Collier, Mustafa Habib Chowdhury, and Christopher I. Richards, "Photoluminescence Enhancement, Blinking Suppression, and Improved Biexciton Quantum Yield of Single Quantum Dots in Zero Mode Waveguides," J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 12, 3303 (2021).   DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpclett.1c00450