Ultranarrow and widely tunable Mn2+-Induced photoluminescence from single Mn-doped nanocrystals of ZnS-CdS alloys

Phys Rev Lett. 2013 Jun 28;110(26):267401. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.110.267401. Epub 2013 Jun 28.

Abstract

Extensively studied Mn-doped semiconductor nanocrystals have invariably exhibited photoluminescence over a narrow energy window of width ≤150 meV in the orange-red region and a surprisingly large spectral width (≥180 meV), contrary to its presumed atomic-like origin. Carrying out emission measurements on individual single nanocrystals and supported by ab initio calculations, we show that Mn PL emission, in fact, can (i) vary over a much wider range (∼370 meV) covering the deep green--deep red region and (ii) exhibit widths substantially lower (∼60-75 meV) than reported so far, opening newer application possibilities and requiring a fundamental shift in our perception of the emission from Mn-doped semiconductor nanocrystals.