Article Title

Nanocrystal-semiconductor interface: Atomic-resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscope study of lead sulfide nanocrystal quantum dots on crystalline silicon

Authors

Zachary Lingley, Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA
Krishnamurthy Mahalingam, Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433-7707, USA
Siyuan Lu, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA
Gail J. Brown, Air Force Research Laboratory, Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio 45433-7707, USA
Anupam Madhukar, Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA

Keywords

nanocrystal quantum dots, semiconductor substrate, interface atomic structure, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy and charge transfer, solar cells

Abstract

ABSTRACT We report on a cross-sectional high resolution transmission electron microscope study of lead sulfide nanocrystal quantum dots (NCQDs) dispersed on electron-transparent silicon nanopillars that enables nearly atomically-resolved simultaneous imaging of the entire composite: the quantum dot, the interfacial region, and the silicon substrate. Considerable richness in the nanocrystal shape and orientation with respect to the substrate lattice is observed. The average NCQD-substrate separation is found to be significantly smaller than the length of the ligands on the NCQDs. Complementary photoluminescence measurements show that light emission from PbS NCQDs on silicon is effectively quenched which we attribute to intrinsic mechanisms of energy and charge transfer from PbS NCQDs to Si.

Graphical Abstract

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-013-0389-4

Publisher

Tsinghua University Press

Recommended Citation

Zachary Lingley,Krishnamurthy Mahalingam,Siyuan Lu,Gail J. Brown,Anupam Madhukar, Nanocrystal-semiconductor interface: Atomic-resolution cross-sectional transmission electron microscope study of lead sulfide nanocrystal quantum dots on crystalline silicon. NanoRes.2014, 7(2): 219–227