Insertion of CdSe quantum dots in ZnSe nanowires: Correlation of structural and chemical characterization with photoluminescence

Martien den Hertog (1) , Miryam Elouneg-Jamroz (2) , Edith Bellet-Amalric (3) , Samir Bounouar (2) , Catherine Bougerol (2) , Régis André (2) , Yann Genuist (4) , Jean-Philippe Poizat (2) , Kuntheak Kheng (3) , Serge Tatarenko (2)

1 NEEL - MRS - Matériaux, Rayonnements, Structure
2 NEEL - NPSC - Nanophysique et Semiconducteurs
3 INAC - Institut Nanosciences et Cryogénie
4 NEEL- EpiCM - Epitaxie et couches minces

ZnSe nanowires with CdSe quantum dot insertions were grown by molecular beam epitaxy using gold as a catalyst. Structural, chemical, and optical properties of the wires and quantum dots were characterized using electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy. We determined the crystalline structure, the chemical composition, and the size of the quantum dot and established a correlation between quantum dot size and luminescence. As expected, a blueshift of the luminescence was observed for decreasing quantum dot size. The comparison of calculated photoluminescence energy and experimental data seems to indicate that the quantum dots consist of a ZnxCd1-xSe ternary alloy rather than pure CdSe.

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

Martien den Hertog, Miryam Elouneg-Jamroz, Edith Bellet-Amalric, Samir Bounouar, Catherine Bougerol, et al.. Insertion of CdSe quantum dots in ZnSe nanowires: Correlation of structural and chemical characterization with photoluminescence. Journal of Applied Physics, 2011, 110, pp.034318. ⟨10.1063/1.3618685⟩. ⟨hal-00721754⟩