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Bright light coaxed from electrically driven quantum dots

Nanocrystals made from a semiconducting material have been shown to emit intense light when excited with an electric current. The technology could be used to build a type of laser that is more versatile than those in general use.
  1. Thilo Stöferle

    1. Thilo Stöferle is at IBM Research Europe – Zurich, 8803 Rüschlikon, Switzerland.

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  2. Rainer F. Mahrt

    1. Rainer F. Mahrt are at IBM Research Europe – Zurich, 8803 Rüschlikon, Switzerland.

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It’s highly likely that you’ve already been impressed by semiconductor nanocrystals without even knowing it. These tiny, chemically synthesized crystals — also known as quantum dots — have light-emitting properties that are used to produce brilliant electronic displays, and have the potential to form the basis of lasers. But despite their versatility1, the physical regime required to achieve lasing has so far been induced only by stimulating the crystals with high-powered light sources2, which precludes many applications. Writing in Nature, Ahn et al.3 report a way of realizing this regime electrically. Although lasing is yet to be demonstrated with this method, the achievement could lead to optical devices operating at wavelengths that are inaccessible to established semiconductor materials.

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Nature 617, 41-42 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-01386-2

References

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Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

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