Proceedings of September Meeting 2016 (NFM16)
Publication date: 14th June 2016
The exciton-phonon interaction in nanocrystals plays a key role in determining the application relevant emission lineshape. However, the strength and nature of exciton-phonon coupling in nanocrystals remains poorly understood and has been subject to a multitude of discrepant studies in the past. In particular, it has proven difficult to reconcile the narrow (<1meV) low temperature (~4K) linewidths and weak phonon sidebands with the broad room temperature emission linewidth (60-100 meV) within the framework of a suitable model.
Moreover, clear relationships between exciton-phonon coupling parameters and the architecture of nanocrystals are not yet established. To elucidate the exciton-phonon interaction in nanocrystals, we have studied a series of CdSe/CdS core-shell nanocrystals with vastly different shell thicknesses. The quasi type-II band alignment in these materials allows for tuning of the excited state electron-hole separation with the shell-thickness. Using a combination of single dot emission spectroscopy over a wide temperature range and time dependent fluorescence spectroscopy, we have investigated the role of the shell-growth induced carrier separation on the exciton-phonon coupling parameters. We describe the temperature dependent emission lineshape with a unified model in terms of these exciton-phonon coupling parameters.