Photoluminescence (PL) intermittency (blinking), or random switching between states of high- (ON) and low (OFF) emissivities, is a universal property of molecular emitters exhibited by dyes1, polymers2, biological molecules3 and artificial nanostructures such as nanocrystal quantum dots, carbon nanotubes, and nanowires4,5,6. For the past fifteen years, colloidal nanocrystals have been used as a model system for studies of this phenomenon.5,6 The occurrence of OFF periods in nanocrystal emission has been commonly attributed to the presence of an additional charge7, which leads to PL quenching by nonradiative Auger recombination.8 However, the “charging” model was recently challenged in several reports.9,10 Here, to clarify the role of charging in PL intermittency, we perform time-resolved PL studies of individual nanocrystals while controlling electrochemically the degree of their charging. We find that two distinct mechanisms can lead to PL intermittency. We identify conventional blinking (A-type) due to charging/discharging of the nanocrystal core when lower PL intensities correlate with shorter PL lifetimes. Importantly, we observe a different blinking (B-type), when large changes in the PL intensity are not accompanied by significant changes in PL dynamics. We attribute this blinking behavior to charge fluctuations in the electron-accepting surface sites. When unoccupied, these sites intercept hot electrons before they relax into emitting core states. Both blinking mechanisms can be controlled electrochemically and under appropriate potential blinking can be completely suppressed.

The exceptional enhancement of Raman scattering by localized plasmonic resonances in the near field of metallic nanoparticles, surfaces or tips (SERS, TERS) has enabled spectroscopic fingerprinting down to the single molecule level. The conventional explanation attributes the enhancement to the subwavelength confinement of the electromagnetic field near nanoantennas. Here, we introduce a new model that also accounts for the dynamical nature of the plasmon-molecule interaction. We thereby reveal an enhancement mechanism not considered before: dynamical backaction amplification of molecular vibrations. We first map the system onto the canonical Hamiltonian of cavity optomechanics, in which the molecular vibration and the plasmon are parametrically coupled. We express the vacuum optomechanical coupling rate for individual molecules in plasmonic 'hot-spots' in terms of the vibrational mode's Raman activity and find it to be orders of magnitude larger than for microfabricated optomechanical systems. Remarkably, the frequency of commonly studied molecular vibrations can be comparable to or larger than the plasmon's decay rate. Together, these considerations predict that an excitation laser blue-detuned from the plasmon resonance can parametrically amplify the molecular vibration, leading to a nonlinear enhancement of Raman emission that is not predicted by the conventional theory. Our optomechanical approach recovers known results, provides a quantitative framework for the calculation of cross-sections, and enables the design of novel systems that leverage dynamical backaction to achieve additional, mode-selective enhancements. It also provides a quantum mechanical framework to analyse plasmon-vibrational interactions in terms of molecular quantum optomechanics.

Nanocrystal quantum dots are attractive materials for applications as nanoscale light sources. One impediment to these applications is fluctuations of single-dot emission intensity, known as blinking. Recent progress in colloidal synthesis has produced nonblinking nanocrystals; however, the physics underlying blinking suppression remains unclear. Here we find that ultra-thick-shell CdSe/CdS nanocrystals can exhibit pronounced fluctuations in the emission lifetimes (lifetime blinking), despite stable nonblinking emission intensity. We demonstrate that lifetime variations are due to switching between the neutral and negatively charged state of the nanocrystal. Negative charging results in faster radiative decay but does not appreciably change the overall emission intensity because of suppressed nonradiative Auger recombination for negative trions. The Auger process involving excitation of a hole (positive trion pathway) remains efficient and is responsible for charging with excess electrons, which occurs via Auger-assisted ionization of biexcitons accompanied by ejection of holes.

We report the first observation of photon antibunching in the photoluminescence from single carbon nanotubes. The emergence of a fast luminescence decay component under strong optical excitation indicates that Auger processes are partially responsible for inhibiting two-photon generation. Additionally, the presence of exciton localization at low temperatures ensures that nanotubes emit photons predominantly one by one. The fact that multiphoton emission probability can be smaller than 5% suggests that carbon nanotubes could be used as a source of single photons for applications in quantum cryptography.

The incorporation of copper dopants into II-VI colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) leads to the introduction of intragap electronic states and the development of a new emission feature due to an optical transition which couples the NC conduction band to the Cu-ion state. The mechanism underlying Cu-related emission and specifically the factors that control the branching between the intrinsic and impurity-related emission channels remain unclear. Here, we address this problem by conducting spectro-electrochemical measurements on Cu-doped core/shell ZnSe/CdSe NCs. These measurements indicate that the distribution of photoluminescence (PL) intensity between the intrinsic and the impurity bands as well as the overall PL efficiency can be controlled by varying the occupancy of surface defect sites. Specifically, by activating hole traps under negative electrochemical potential (the Fermi level is raised), we can enhance the Cu band at the expense of band-edge emission, which is consistent with the predominant Cu(2+) character of the dopant ions. Furthermore, we observe an overall PL "brightening" under negative potential and "dimming" under positive potential, which we attribute to changes in the occupancy of the electron trap sites (that is, the degree of their electronic passivation) that control nonradiative losses due to electron surface trapping.