Proceedings of MATSUS Fall 2023 Conference (MATSUSFall23)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29363/nanoge.matsus.2023.051
Publication date: 18th July 2023
Perovskite nanocrystal superlattices (NC SLs), made from millions of ordered crystals, support collective optoelectronic phenomena such as superfluorescent (SF) emission. In these SL collectives, the coupled NC emitters are highly sensitive to structural and spectral inhomogeneities of the NC ensemble. We use Free electrons in scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to probe the cathodoluminescence (CL) properties of CsPbBr3 SLs with a ~20nm spatial resolution. Correlated CL-SEM measurements allow simultaneous characterization of structural and spectral heterogeneities of the SLs. Hyperspectral CL mapping, in which a full CL spectrum is acquired from every pixel, shows multipole emissive domains within a single SL. Consistently, the edges of the SLs are blue-shifted relative to the central domain by up to 65meV. Residual uniaxial compressive strains, indicated by structural characterizations of the SLs, accompanying SL formation are contributors to these emission shifts. We discover a relation between NC building block colloidal softness and the extent of the CL shift. In SLs made from smaller NC building blocks, the CL shift is much higher due to the high colloidal softness which influence the residual strains in the SL from the assembly process. Therefore, precise control over the NC building blocks colloidal softness is critical for SL engineering.