Domaines
Quantum optics/Atomic physics/Laser
Condensed matter
Nanophysics, nanophotonics, 2D materials and van der Waals heterostructures,, surface physicss, new electronic states of matter
Type of internship
Expérimental Description
Colloidal quantum dots (CQDs) are semiconductor nanoparticles that, due to their size (2-20 nm), fall in the quantum confinement regime. As such, they exhibit optical properties that can be continuously adjusted over a wide range of wavelengths, from the infrared to the ultraviolet. These objects are very good single photon sources at room temperature, capable of emitting photons one-by-one with high efficiency. Recently, diluted CQDs were integrated within electrical transport layers, allowing to observe electrically-injected single-photon emission. Nevertheless, the charge injection pathway is very complex in such devices involving a very large ensemble of CQDs, and brightness is very low as single photon purity is achieved by collecting photons from a very limited area.
In this internship, we propose to use scanning tunneling electroluminescence microscopy (STLM) to probe electronic and optical properties of CQDs with nanoscale resolution, essentially realizing a true single-CQD LED inside a STM equipped with light collection optics. The goals are:
(1) probe the local electronic density of state at the single CQD level using to tunneling spectroscopy, correlate such measurements with collected electroluminescence and with ensemble optical spectroscopy;
(2) build a Hanbury-Brown and Twiss interferometer (HBT) and observe single photon emission excited by tunnel currents in single CQDs;
(3) provide an accurate description of the charge injection mechanism.
Contact
Alistair Rowe