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Directed emission of CdSe nanoplatelets originating from strongly anisotropic 2D electronic structure

Nature Nanotechnology volume 12, pages 1155–1160 (2017)Cite this article

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Abstract

Intrinsically directional light emitters are potentially important for applications in photonics including lasing and energy-efficient display technology. Here, we propose a new route to overcome intrinsic efficiency limitations in light-emitting devices by studying a CdSe nanoplatelets monolayer that exhibits strongly anisotropic, directed photoluminescence. Analysis of the two-dimensional k-space distribution reveals the underlying internal transition dipole distribution. The observed directed emission is related to the anisotropy of the electronic Bloch states governing the exciton transition dipole moment and forming a bright plane. The strongly directed emission perpendicular to the platelet is further enhanced by the optical local density of states and local fields. In contrast to the emission directionality, the off-resonant absorption into the energetically higher 2D-continuum of states is isotropic. These contrasting optical properties make the oriented CdSe nanoplatelets, or superstructures of parallel-oriented platelets, an interesting and potentially useful class of semiconductor-based emitters.

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Figure 1: Momentum (k-space) resolved photoluminescence.
Figure 2: Calculated k-space spectra.
Figure 3: 2D k-space spectra of CdSe nanoplatelets and quantum dots.
Figure 4: Angle-dependent p-polarized emission and excitation of CdSe nanoplatelets and spherical QD monolayers.
Figure 5: Radiation patterns of nanoplatelet and QD monolayer ensembles in isotropic media.
Figure 6: The contribution of different Bloch states determines the isotropic absorption and anisotropic emission of zincblende CdSe nanoplatelets.

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Acknowledgements

R.S., U.W. and A.W.A acknowledge DFG grants WO477–1/32 and AC290-1/1 and 2/1. J.I.C. acknowledges support from MINECO project CTQ2014-60178-P and UJI project P1-1B2014-24, M.A. from the CHEMREAGENTS program and A.A. from BRFFI grant no. X16M-020.

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Author notes

  1. Riccardo Scott and Jan Heckmann: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Optics and Atomic Physics, Technical University of Berlin, Strasse des 17. Juni 135, Berlin, 10623, Germany

    Riccardo Scott, Jan Heckmann, Nina Owschimikow, Ulrike Woggon, Nicolai B. Grosse & Alexander W. Achtstein

  2. Research Institute for Physical Chemical Problems of Belarusian State University, Minsk, 220006, Belarus

    Anatol V. Prudnikau, Artsiom Antanovich, Aleksandr Mikhailov & Mikhail Artemyev

  3. Departament de Química Física i Analítica, Universitat Jaume I, Castelló de la Plana, E-12080, Spain

    Juan I. Climente

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Contributions

J.H., R.S., A.V.P. and N.G. performed measurements. A.V.P., A.A., A.M. and M.A. made samples. J.H., R.S., N.B.G. and A.W.A. analysed, modelled and interpreted the data. J.I.C. contributed theoretical interpretation. J.H., R.S., N.B.G, J.I.C., N.O. and A.W.A wrote the manuscript. U.W. contributed to discussions.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alexander W. Achtstein.

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Scott, R., Heckmann, J., Prudnikau, A. et al. Directed emission of CdSe nanoplatelets originating from strongly anisotropic 2D electronic structure. Nature Nanotech 12, 1155–1160 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nnano.2017.177

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