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Luminescence upconversion in colloidal double quantum dots

Nature Nanotechnology volume 8, pages 649–653 (2013)Cite this article

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Abstract

Luminescence upconversion nanocrystals capable of converting two low-energy photons into a single photon at a higher energy are sought-after for a variety of applications, including bioimaging1,2 and photovoltaic light harvesting3. Currently available systems, based on rare-earth-doped dielectrics4,5, are limited in both tunability and absorption cross-section. Here we present colloidal double quantum dots as an alternative nanocrystalline upconversion system, combining the stability of an inorganic crystalline structure with the spectral tunability afforded by quantum confinement. By tailoring its composition and morphology, we form a semiconducting nanostructure in which excited electrons are delocalized over the entire structure, but a double potential well is formed for holes. Upconversion occurs by excitation of an electron in the lower energy transition, followed by intraband absorption of the hole, allowing it to cross the barrier to a higher energy state. An overall conversion efficiency of 0.1% per double excitation event is achieved.

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Figure 1: Description of the upconversion nanocrystals.
Figure 2: Ensemble upconversion measurements.
Figure 3: Pump–probe luminescence upconversion experiments.
Figure 4: Single nanocrystal upconversion measurements.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support from the Minerva Foundation, the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley charitable trust, and the European Research Council (starting investigator grant SINSLIM 258221). D.O. is the incumbent of the Recanati Career Development Chair in Energy Research.

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Author notes

  1. Zvicka Deutsch and Lior Neeman: These authors contributed equally to this work

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics of Complex Systems, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, 76100, Israel

    Zvicka Deutsch, Lior Neeman & Dan Oron

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  1. Zvicka Deutsch
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  2. Lior Neeman
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  3. Dan Oron
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Contributions

Z.D. synthesized the nanocrystals. L.N. and Z.D. performed the optical experiments. D.O. conceived and supervised the project. The manuscript was written jointly by all authors.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dan Oron.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Deutsch, Z., Neeman, L. & Oron, D. Luminescence upconversion in colloidal double quantum dots. Nature Nanotech 8, 649–653 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2013.146

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