No abstract

HgTe colloidal quantum dots are prepared via a simple two-step injection method. Absorption and photodetection with sharp edges, as well as narrow photoluminescence, are tunable across the near and mid-IR between 1.3 and 5 μm.

HgS nanocrystals show a strong mid-infrared absorption and a bleach of the near-infrared band edge, both tunable in energy and reversibly controlled by exposure to solution ions under ambient conditions. The same effects are obtained by applying a reducing electrochemical potential, confirming that the mid-infrared absorption is the intraband transition of the quantum dot. This is the first time that stable carriers are present in the quantum state of strongly confined quantum dot in ambient conditions. The mechanism by which doping is achieved is attributed to the rigid shifts of the valence and conduction band with respect to the environment, similar to the sensitivity of the work function of surfaces to adsorbates.

Two-dimensional colloidal nanoplatelets (NPLs), owing to the atomic-level control of their confined direction (i.e., no inhomogeneous broadening), have demonstrated improved photoluminescence (PL) line widths for cadmium chalcogenide-based nanocrystals. Here we use cation exchange to synthesize mercury chalcogenide NPLs. Appropriate control of reaction kinetics enables the 2D morphology of the NPLs to be maintained during the cation exchange. HgTe and HgSe NPLs have significantly improved optical features compared to existing materials with similar band gaps. The PL line width of HgTe NPLs (40 nm full width at half-maximum, centered at 880 nm) is a factor of 2 smaller than typical PbS nanocrystals (NCs) emitting at the same wavelength. The PL has a lifetime of 50 ns, almost 2 orders of magnitude shorter than small PbS colloidal quantum dots (CQDs), and a quantum yield of ∼10%, almost 2 orders of magnitude shorter than small PbS colloidal quantum dots (CQDs). These materials are promising for a large variety of applications spanning from telecommunications to the design of colloidal topological insulators.

HgTe colloidal quantum dots (CQD) in an inorganic As(2)S(3) matrix allow 100-fold higher mobility with optimized transport properties compared to HgTe-organic CQD film while remaining intrinsic. The material's electronic properties are measured by field effect transistors as a function of temperature and the responsivity and detectivity of the mid-IR photoconductors are discussed.