V. S. Lebedev

Electroluminescence of CdSe/CdS quantum dots and the transfer of the exciton excitation energy in an organic light-emitting diode

A light emitting diode has been developed on the basis of multilayer nanostructures in which CdSe/CdS semiconductor colloidal quantum dots serve as emitters. Their absorption, photo-, and electroluminescence spectra have been obtained. The strong influence of the size effect and the density of particles in the layer on the spectral and electrophysical characteristics of the diode has been demonstrated. It has been shown that the rates of the transfer of the exciton excitation energy from organic molecules to quantum dots increase strongly even at a small increase in the radius of the core (CdSe) of a particle and depend strongly on the thickness of the shell (CdS) of the particle. The optimal arrangement of the layer of quantum dots with respect to the p-n junction has been estimated from the experimental data. The results demonstrate that the spectral characteristics and rates of the electron processes in light-emitting devices based on quantum dots incorporated into an organic matrix can be efficiently controlled.

Mechanism of electronic-excitation transfer in organic light-emitting devices based on semiconductor quantum dots

The results of an experimental study of organic light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with luminescent layers based on two types of CdSe/CdS semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) with an average CdSe core diameter of 3 and 5 nm and a characteristic CdS shell thickness of 0.5 nm are presented. The dependences of the LED efficiency on the QD concentration are determined. The experimental data are used to determine the mechanism of electronic-excitation transfer from the organic matrix to the semiconductor QDs. Ways of optimizing the design of the LEDs in order to improve their efficiency are suggested on this basis.

Organic light-emitting diode with an emitter based on a planar layer of CdSe semiconductor nanoplatelets

Colloidal CdSe semiconductor nanoplatelets with characteristic longitudinal sizes of 20–70 nm and thicknesses of several atomic layers are synthesized. The spectra and kinetics of the photoluminescence of these quasi-two-dimensional nanostructures (quantum wells) at room and cryogenic temperatures are investigated. A hybrid light-emitting diode with the electron and hole transport layers based on TAZ and TPD organic compounds, respectively, and the active “emissive” element based on a layer of such single-component nanoplatelets is designed. The spectral and electrical characteristics of the fabricated device, emitting at a wavelength of λ = 515 nm, are determined. The use of quasi-two-dimensional nanostructures of this kind (nanoplatelets) is promising for the fabrication of hybrid light-emitting diodes with pure colors.

Localization of light energy on the nanometer scale in a silicon cone

The spatial structure of light fields in a metallized cone filled with a medium with complex dielectric function was studied on the basis of the exact solution of the eigenwave problem. It is suggested that silicon can be used as a core of optical probe in the visible spectral region. It is shown that the density of light energy at the output of optical probe can be drastically increased if silicon is used instead of glass fiber.

Electroluminescence of colloidal quasi-two-dimensional semiconducting CdSe nanostructures in a hybrid light-emitting diode

We report on the results of studying quasi-two-dimensional nanostructures synthesized here in the form of semiconducting CdSe nanoplatelets with a characteristic longitudinal size of 20–70 nm and a thick-ness of a few atomic layers. Their morphology is studied using TEM and AFM and X-ray diffraction analysis; the crystal structure and sizes are determined. At room and cryogenic temperatures, the spectra and kinetics of the photoluminescence of such structures (quantum wells) are investigated. A hybrid light-emitting diode operating on the basis of CdSe nanoplatelets as a plane active element (emitter) is developed using the organic materials TAZ and TPD to form electron and hole transport layers, respectively. The spectral and current-voltage characteristics of the constructed device with a radiation wavelength λ = 515 nm are obtained. The device triggering voltage is 5.5 V (visible glow). The use of quasi-two-dimensional structures of this type is promising for hybrid light-emitting diodes with pure color and low operating voltages.

Plasmonic enhancement of four-particle radiative recombination in SiGe quantum wells

The influence of gold nanoparticles deposited on the surface of a Si0.95Ge0.05/Si quantum-well heterostructure with a thin Si cap layer on the spectra of low-temperature recombination radiation of biexcitons and an electron–hole liquid confined in the quantum well is investigated. The spectra of both visible and near-infrared radiation are recorded from a region on the sample surface without nanoparticles and regions coated with nanoparticles of different areal densities. It is found that the presence of gold nanoparticles causes strong plasmonic enhancement of collective emission processes in which two holes simultaneously recombine with two electrons from opposite valleys of the conduction band, with the energy of the four particles being transferred to a single photon in the visible spectral range.

Transfer of a weakly bound electron in collisions of Rydberg atoms with neutral particles. I. Long-range interaction effects in the ionic-covalent coupling

Ion-pair formation processes are studied in collisions of Rydberg atoms with neutral particles possessing small electron affinities. Nonadiabatic transitions from a Rydberg covalent term to an ionic term of a quasi-molecule are considered using the modified Landau-Zener theory supplemented with calculation of survival factors of an anion decaying in the Coulomb field of a positive ion core. Using the technique of irreducible tensor operators and the momentum representation of the wavefunction of a highly excited atom, exact expressions are obtained for transition matrix elements and the ionic-covalent coupling parameter. The approach developed in the paper provides the description beyond the scope of a conventional assumption about a small variation of the wavefunction of the Rydberg atom on the range of electron coordinates determined by the characteristic radius of the wavefunction of the anion. This allows one to correctly consider long-range effects of the interaction between a weakly bound electron and the neutral core of a negative ion in processes under study. It is shown by the example of thermal collisions of Xe(nf) atoms with CH3CN molecules that this is very important for a reliable quantitative description of anion formation with a low binding energy. The results are compared with experiments and calculations performed within the framework of a number of approximate methods.

Formation and dynamics of a plasma in superstrong laser fields including radiative and quantum electrodynamics effects

Studies of phenomena accompanying the interaction of superstrong electromagnetic fields with matter, in particular, the generation of an electron–positron plasma, acceleration of electrons and ions, and the generation of hard electromagnetic radiation are briefly reviewed. The possibility of using thin films to initiate quantum electrodynamics cascades in the field of converging laser pulses is analyzed. A model is developed to describe the formation of a plasma cavity behind a laser pulse in the transversely inhomogeneous plasma and the generation of betatron radiation by electrons accelerated in this cavity. Features of the generation of gamma radiation, as well as the effect of quantum electrodynamics effects on the acceleration of ions, at the interaction of intense laser pulses with solid targets are studied.

Superradiance of a degenerate exciton gas in semiconductors with indirect fundamental absorption edge

It is predicted that superradiant states can be formed in a degenerate exciton gas in a semiconductor with an indirect fundamental absorption edge. The superradiance results from four-particle recombination processes and occurs at photon energies approximately twice as high as the band gap energy. Experimental results supporting the possibility of the observation of superradiance from SiGe/Si quantum wells are presented.

Transfer of a weakly bound electron in collisions of Rydberg atoms with neutral particles. II. Ion-pair formation and resonant quenching of the Rb(nl) and Ne(nl) States by Ca, Sr, and Ba atoms

Electron-transfer processes are studied in thermal collisions of Rydberg atoms with alkaline-earth Ca(4s2), Sr(5s2), and Ba(6s2) atoms capable of forming negative ions with a weakly bound outermost p-electron. We consider the ion-pair formation and resonant quenching of highly excited atomic states caused by transitions between Rydberg covalent and ionic terms of a quasi-molecule produced in collisions of particles. The contributions of these reaction channels to the total depopulation cross section of Rydberg states of Rb(nl) and Ne(nl) atoms as functions of the principal quantum number n are compared for selectively excited nl-levels with l ≪ n and for states with large orbital quantum numbers l = n − 1, n − 2. It is shown that the contribution from resonant quenching dominates at small values of n, and the ion-pair formation process begins to dominate with increasing n. The values and positions of the maxima of cross sections for both processes strongly depend on the electron affinity of an alkaline-earth atom and on the orbital angular momentum l of a highly excited atom. It is shown that in the case of Rydberg atoms in states with large l ∼ n − 1, the rate constants of ion-pair formation and collisional quenching are considerably lower than those for nl-levels with l ≪ n.