Abstract
We have explored the optical properties of bilayers of Mercury telluride (HgTe) nanocrystals (NCs) embedded in polymer which were
prepared from a colloidal solution. These NCs show strong luminescence in the near infrared at room temperature, which makes them an
interesting material for the telecommunication area. The emission wavelength can efficiently be tuned by controlling the size of the NCs.
We report spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements, which clearly show an energy shift of the critical points (CPs) in the dielectric
function to higher energies compared to the HgTe bulk properties. This is caused by quantum confinement in the crystals. The exact peak
energies of the transitions are fitted with line-shape models for CPs. Surprisingly, concepts coming from semiconductor bulk optics, as
CPs, can be applied to NCs with a diameter of less than 5 unit cells.
prepared from a colloidal solution. These NCs show strong luminescence in the near infrared at room temperature, which makes them an
interesting material for the telecommunication area. The emission wavelength can efficiently be tuned by controlling the size of the NCs.
We report spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements, which clearly show an energy shift of the critical points (CPs) in the dielectric
function to higher energies compared to the HgTe bulk properties. This is caused by quantum confinement in the crystals. The exact peak
energies of the transitions are fitted with line-shape models for CPs. Surprisingly, concepts coming from semiconductor bulk optics, as
CPs, can be applied to NCs with a diameter of less than 5 unit cells.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 104-107 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Physica E: Low-Dimensional Systems and Nanostructures |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 1-2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - May 2006 |