In this paper, we demonstrate that for colloidal CdSe/CdS nanoplatelets, a rectangular shape induces emission asymmetry, in terms of both polarization and emission patterns. Polarimetry and emission pattern analyses are combined to provide information on the orientation of the transition dipoles involved in the nanoplatelet emission. It is shown that for rectangular nanoplatelets, the emission is polarized and the emission patterns are anisotropic, whereas they remain nonpolarized and isotropic for square nanoplatelets. This can be appropriately described by the dielectric antenna effect induced by the elongated shape of the rectangular platelet.

Measuring the orientation of a single fluorescent nano-emitter and obtaining emitters with a desired orientation is of highest importance for nanophotonics, especially in plasmonics where an emitting dipole close to a metallic surface will couple efficiently to plasmonic modes only if it is deposited vertically. Control of the orientation of a nano-object remains a challenge. Achieving vertical orientation, or having an information on the dipole orientation are key steps for efficient plasmonic excitation. We consider here cubic-shaped nanoplatelets with a thin CdSe core sandwiched in a thick CdS shell. By a combination of polarization measurement and radiation pattern Fourier analysis, we show that each single platelet behaves with excellent precision as a 2D dipole (sum of 2 orthogonal incoherent dipoles) and having only two possible orientations: either they lie horizontally on the substrate or they stand vertically on the edge. The cubic shape allows some platelets to deposit vertically so that they present a deterministic vertical dipole component.