Halide Ligands to Release Strain in Cadmium Chalcogenide Nanoplatelets and Achieve High Brightness

International audienceZinc blende II-VI semiconductor nanoplatelets (NPLs) are defined at the atomic scale along the thickness of the nanoparticle and are initially capped with carboxylates on the top and bottom [001] facets. These ligands are exchanged on CdSe NPLs with halides that act as X-L-type ligands. These CdSe NPLs are costabilized by amines to provide colloidal stability in nonpolar solvents. The hydrogen from the amine can participate in a hydrogen bond with the lone pair electrons of surface halides. After ligand exchange, the optical features are redshifted. Thus, ligand tuning is another way, in addition to confinement, to tune the optical features of NPLs. The improved surface passivation leads to an increase in the fluorescence quantum efficiency of up to 70% in the case of bromide. However, for chloride and iodide, the surface coverage is incomplete, and thus, the fluorescence quantum efficiency is lower. This ligand exchange is associated with a decrease in stress that leads to unfolding of the NPLs, which is particularly noticeable for iodide-capped NPLs

Field effect transistor and photo transistor of narrow band gap nanocrystal arrays using ionic glasses

International audienceGating of nanocrystal films is currently driven by two approaches: either the use of a dielectric such as SiO2 or the use of electrolyte. SiO2 allows fast bias sweeping over a broad range of temperatures but requires a large operating bias. Electrolyte, thanks to a large capacitance, leads to significantly reduce operating bias but is limited to slow speed and quasi room temperature operation. None of these operating conditions are optimal for narrow band gap nanocrystal-based phototransistors for which the need of a large capacitance gate has to be combined with low temperature operation. Here we explore the use of a LaF3 ionic glass as a high capacitance gating alternative. We demonstrate for the first time the use of such ionic glasses to gate thin films made of HgTe and PbS nanocrystals. This gating strategy allows operation in the 180 to 300 K range of temperatures with capacitance as high as 1 µF·cm-2. We unveil the unique property of ionic glass gate to enable unprecedented tunability of both magnitude and dynamics of the photocurrent, thanks to high charge doping capability within an operating temperature window relevant for infrared photodetection. We demonstrate that by carefully choosing the operating gate bias, the signal to noise ratio can be improved by a factor 100 and the time response accelerated by a factor 6. Moreover, the good transparency of LaF3 substrate allows back side illumination in the infrared which is highly valuable for the design of phototransistor

Transport and Phototransport in ITO Nanocrystals with Short to Long-Wave Infrared Absorption

Nanocrystals are often described as an interesting strategy for the design of low-cost optoelectronic devices especially in the infrared range. However the driving materials reaching infrared absorption are generally heavy metalcontaining (Pb and Hg) with a high toxicity. An alternative strategy to achieve infrared transition is the use of doped semiconductors presenting intraband or plasmonic transition in the short, mid and long-wave infrared. This strategy may offer more flexibility regarding the range of possible candidate materials. In particular, significant progresses have been achieved for the synthesis of doped oxides and for the control of their doping magnitude. Among them, tin doped indium oxide (ITO) is the one providing the broadest spectral tunability. Here we test the potential of such ITO nanoparticles for photoconduction in the infrared. We demonstrate that In2O3 nanoparticles presents an intraband absorption in the mid infrared range which is transformed into a plasmonic feature as doping is introduced. We have determined the cross section associated with the plasmonic transition to be in the 1-3x10-13 cm2 range. We have observed that the nanocrystals can be made conductive and photoconductive due to a ligand exchange using a short carboxylic acid, leading to a dark conduction with n-type character. We bring further evidence that the observed photoresponse in the infrared is the result of a bolometric effect

Mutations in TUBB8 and Human Oocyte Meiotic Arrest

BACKGROUND Human reproduction depends on the fusion of a mature oocyte with a sperm cell to form a fertilized egg. The genetic events that lead to the arrest of human oocyte maturation are unknown. METHODS We sequenced the exomes of five members of a four-generation family, three of whom had infertility due to oocyte meiosis I arrest. We performed Sanger sequencing of a candidate gene, TUBB8, in DNA samples from these members, additional family members, and members of 23 other affected families. The expression of TUBB8 and all other β-tubulin isotypes was assessed in human oocytes, early embryos, sperm cells, and several somatic tissues by means of a quantitative reverse- transcriptase–polymerase-chain-reaction assay. We evaluated the effect of the TUBB8 mutations on the assembly of the heterodimer consisting of one α-tubulin polypeptide and one β-tubulin polypeptide (α/β-tubulin heterodimer) in vitro, on microtubule architecture in HeLa cells, on microtubule dynamics in yeast cells, and on spindle assembly in mouse and human oocytes. RESULTS We identified seven mutations in the primate-specific gene TUBB8 that were responsible for oocyte meiosis I arrest in 7 of the 24 families. TUBB8 expression is unique to oocytes and the early embryo, in which this gene accounts for almost all the expressed β-tubulin. The mutations affect chaperone-dependent folding and assembly of the α/β-tubulin heterodimer, disrupt microtubule behavior on expression in cultured cells, alter microtubule dynamics in vivo, and cause catastrophic spindle-assembly defects and maturation arrest on expression in mouse and human oocytes. CONCLUSIONS TUBB8 mutations have dominant-negative effects that disrupt microtubule behavior and oocyte meiotic spindle assembly and maturation, causing female infertility. (Funded by the National Basic Research Program of China and others.

Applications en optoélectronique des nanocristaux colloïdaux : le cas des photodétecteurs et des diodes électroluminescentes

Nanocrystals with a dimension below their excitonic Bohr radius can provide size-tunable optoelectronic properties, enabling on-demand tailoring of properties for specific applications. Especially, the advance of wet chemistry synthesis of colloidal nanocrystals makes them promising building blocks for the next-generation solution-processible low-cost optoelectronics such as light emitting, sensing, and harvesting. My thesis targets two aspects of the nanocrystal-based devices: infrared (IR) photodetector and light emitting diode (LED). My thesis is first focused on the heavy-metal-free IR photodetection using the intraband transition of self-doped Ag2Se or the plasmonic resonance of remotely doped ITO (tin doped indium oxide) nanocrystals. Before integrating them to photoconductive devices, I study their optical and transport properties as well as their energy spectra. I then test their IR photodetection performance and rationalize their weak performance compared with their heavy metal counterparts. In the second part of my thesis, I advance to the all-solution nanocrystal-based LEDs in the visible and SWIR, with an emphasis on their practical applications. The designed visible LED using CdSe/CdZnS nanoplatelets (NPLs) shows the lowest turn-on voltage and the longest lifetime for NPL-based LED. I also provide insights on the origin of efficiency droop. Then, this LED is coupled with a homemade PbS broadband photodetector to achieve, for the first time, an all-nanocrystal based LiFi-like communication setup. For SWIR LEDs, HgTe is used as IR emitter. By forming a HgTe/ZnO bulk heterojunction in the emitting layer, a bright SWIR LED capable of active imaging is obtained.Les nanocristaux dont la dimension est inférieure à leur rayon de Bohr excitonique peuvent fournir des propriétés optoélectroniques accordables avec la taille. Cela permet d’obtenir des propriétés électroniques à façon. En particulier, le développement de la synthèse par voie colloïdale des nanocristaux en fait des briques élémentaires prometteuses pour des applications optoélectroniques à bas coût. Ma thèse cible deux aspects des dispositifs à base de nanocristaux: les photodétecteurs infrarouges et les diodes électroluminescentes (LED). Ma thèse est d'abord centrée sur la photodétection infrarouge sans métaux lourds utilisant soit la transition intrabande d'Ag2Se, soit des nanocristaux plasmoniques ITO. J'ai étudié leurs propriétés optiques et de transport ainsi que leur spectre électronique. J’ai ensuite testé leurs performances pour la photodétection infrarouge. Les performances obtenues sont mises en perspective par rapport à leurs homologues contenant des métaux lourds. Dans une seconde partie de ma thèse, je me focalise sur les LEDs à base de nanocristaux avec des longueurs d’onde visées à la fois dans le visible et le proche infrarouge. La LED visible conçue à l'aide de nanoplaquettes CdSe/CdZnS montre une faible tension de fonctionnement et la durée de vie la plus longue obtenue pour les LED à base de nanoplaquettes. Ensuite, cette LED est couplée à un photodétecteur PbS maison pour réaliser pour la première fois une communication de type LiFi tout nanocristal. Pour les LED proche infrarouge, j’ai utilisé HgTe comme matériau optiquement actif. En formant une hétérojonction à partir de HgTe / ZnO, une LED infrarouge lumineuse capable d'imagerie active est obtenue