Synthesis, optical properties, and amplified spontaneous emission of hybrid Ag–SiO₂–CdTe nanocomposite

Abstract

In this work, a hybrid nanocomposite of metal–dielectric–semiconductor, Ag–SiO2–CdTe, nanoparticles has been synthesized. Silica shell was used as a spacer to isolate and control the distance between Ag plasmonic and luminescent CdTe QDs. It was found that insertion of silica shell enhances the plasmonic field more than 31%. Accordingly, Ag-SiO2 plasmonic enhances the luminescence and quantum yield of CdTe quantum dots by 200% and 55%, respectively. The threshold power of amplified spontaneous emission of CdTe was found to depend on both temperature and excitation wavelength location with respect to plasmon and exciton absorption. This nanocomposite could be potentially used in light-emitting diodes, biological sensing, and thermal therapy.