7 research outputs found
Energy levels of few electron quantum dots imaged and characterized by atomic force microscopy
Strong confinement of charges in few electron systems such as in atoms,
molecules and quantum dots leads to a spectrum of discrete energy levels that
are often shared by several degenerate quantum states. Since the electronic
structure is key to understanding their chemical properties, methods that probe
these energy levels in situ are important. We show how electrostatic force
detection using atomic force microscopy reveals the electronic structure of
individual and coupled self-assembled quantum dots. An electron addition
spectrum in the Coulomb blockade regime, resulting from a change in cantilever
resonance frequency and dissipation during tunneling events, shows one by one
electron charging of a dot. The spectra show clear level degeneracies in
isolated quantum dots, supported by the first observation of predicted
temperature-dependent shifts of Coulomb blockade peaks. Further, by scanning
the surface we observe that several quantum dots may reside on what
topologically appears to be just one. These images of grouped weakly and
strongly coupled dots allow us to estimate their relative coupling strengths.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure
Spectroscopic Imaging of Photopotentials and Photoinduced Potential Fluctuations in a Bulk Heterojunction Solar Cell Film
We present spatially resolved photovoltage spectra of a bulk heterojunction solar cell film composed of phase-separated poly(9,9′-dioctylfluorene-co-benzothiadiazole) (F8BT) and poly(9,9′-dioctylfluorene-co-bis-N,N′-(4-butylphenyl)-bis-N,N′-phenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine) (PFB) polymers prepared on ITO/PEDOT:PSS and aluminum substrates. Over both PFB- and F8BT-rich domains, the photopotential spectra were found to be proportional to a linear combination of the polymers’ absorption spectra. Charge trapping in the film was studied using photopotential fluctuation spectroscopy, in which low-frequency photoinduced electrostatic potential fluctuations were measured by observing noise in the oscillation frequency of a nearby charged atomic force microscope cantilever. Over both F8BT- and PFB-rich regions, the magnitude, distance dependence, frequency dependence, and illumination wavelength dependence of the observed cantilever frequency noise are consistent with photopotential fluctuations arising from stochastic light-driven trapping and detrapping of charges in F8BT. Taken together, our findings suggest a microscopic mechanism by which intermixing of phases leads to charge trapping and thereby to suppressed open-circuit voltage and decreased efficiency in this prototypical bulk heterojunction solar cell film