Non-blinking semiconductor colloidal quantum dots for biology, optoelectronics and quantum optics.
Twinkle, twinkle: The blinking of semiconductor colloidal nanocrystals is the main inconvenience of these bright nanoemitters. There are various approaches for obtaining non-blinking nanocrystals, one of which is to grow a thick coat of CdS on the CdSe core (see picture). Applications of this method in the fields of optoelectronic devices, biologic labelling and quantum information processing are discussed.The blinking of semiconductor colloidal nanocrystals is the main inconvenience of these bright nanoemitters. For some years, research on this phenomenon has demonstrated the possibility to progress beyond this problem by suppressing this fluorescence intermittency in various ways. After a brief overview on the microscopic mechanism of blinking, we review the various approaches used to obtain non-blinking nanocrystals and discuss the commitment of this crucial improvement to applications in the fields of optoelectronic devices, biologic labelling and quantum information processing.
Spinicelli
Piernicola
P
Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, Ecole normale supérieure, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, CNRS UMR8552, 24 rue Lhomond 75231 Paris, France.
Mahler
Benoit
B
Buil
Stéphanie
S
Quélin
Xavier
X
Dubertret
Benoit
B
Hermier
Jean-Pierre
JP
D001695:Biology; D019187:Cadmium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D003102:Colloids / Q000737:chemistry; D004581:Electronics; D005453:Fluorescence; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D045663:Quantum Dots; D018036:Selenium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D012666:Semiconductors; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry
D019187:Cadmium Compounds; D003102:Colloids; D018036:Selenium Compounds; D013440:Sulfides; C034939:cadmium sulfide; C058667:cadmium selenide