The Dominant Role of Exciton Quenching in PbS Quantum-Dot-Based Photovoltaic Devices

We present a quantitative measurement of the number of trapped carriers combined with a measurement of exciton quenching to assess limiting mechanisms for current losses in PbS-quantum-dot-based photovoltaic devices. We use photocurrent intensity dependence and short-wave infrared transient photoluminescence and correlate these with device performance. We find that the effective density of trapped carriers ranges from 1 in 10 to 1 in 10 000 quantum dots, depending on ligand treatment, and that nonradiative exciton quenching, as opposed to recombination with trapped carriers, is likely the limiting mechanism in these devices

Measurement of Emission Lifetime Dynamics and Biexciton Emission Quantum Yield of Individual InAs Colloidal Nanocrystals

The understanding of the photophysics of visible-emitting colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) has long been aided by single-molecule studies of their emission. Until recently, no suitable detection technologies have existed for corresponding studies of shortwave-infrared (SWIR) emitters. Now, the use of superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors (SNSPDs) enables the detailed study of SWIR NC emission dynamics at the single-emitter level. Here, we report a detailed analysis of the emission dynamics of individual InAs/CdZnS NCs emitting in the SWIR region. We observe blinking akin to the type A and type B blinking previously observed in visible-emitting CdSe NCs. We determine the intrinsic radiative lifetime of several InAs/CdZnS NCs and find examples ranging from 50–200 ns, indicative of a quasi-type-II electronic structure. We also measure <i>g</i>₀⁽²⁾ for several of these NCs and find that their biexciton emission quantum yields vary from <1% up to 43%

Efficient Single Photon Detection from 500 nm to 5 μm Wavelength

We report on superconducting nanowire single photon detectors (SNSPDs) based on 30 nm wide nanowires with detection efficiency η ∼ 2.6–5.5% in the wavelength range λ = 0.5–5 μm. We compared the sensitivity of 30 nm wide SNSPDs with the sensitivity of SNSPDs based on wider (85 and 50 nm wide) nanowires for λ = 0.5–5 μm. The detection efficiency of the detectors based on the wider nanowires became negligible at shorter wavelengths than the 30 nm wide SNSPDs. Our 30 nm wide SNSPDs showed 2 orders of magnitude higher detection efficiency (η ∼ 2%) up to longer wavelength (λ = 5 μm) than previously reported. On the basis of our simulations, we expect that by changing the optical coupling scheme and by integrating the detectors in an optical cavity, the detection efficiency of our detectors could be increased by a factor of ∼6

Single Photon Counting from Individual Nanocrystals in the Infrared

Experimental restrictions imposed on the collection and detection of shortwave-infrared photons (SWIR) have impeded single molecule work on a large class of materials whose optical activity lies in the SWIR. Here we report the successful observation of room-temperature single nanocrystal photoluminescence at SWIR wavelengths using a highly efficient multielement superconducting nanowire single photon detector. We confirm that the photoluminescence from single lead sulfide nanocrystals is strongly antibunched, demonstrating the feasibility of performing sophisticated photon correlation experiments on individual weak SWIR emitters, and, more broadly, paving the way for sensitive measurements of spectral observables on infrared quantum systems that are incompatible with current detection techniques