New Photophysical Processes in Impurity Doped Quantum Dots

掺杂半导体纳米结构在能量转换、能量存储、光催化、信息处理和信息存储技术中无处不在，它们是许多未来器件技术的核心，包括基于自旋的电子学。在材料研究部固态和材料化学项目的支持下，该项目正在用掺杂杂质的半导体制造纳米尺度上的新型物质。该项目还应用复杂的物理测量技术来阐明这些掺杂纳米晶体的技术相关物理特性。从这个项目中获得的知识对这些技术都有广泛的影响。除了产生新的基础科学知识和新的物质形式外，该项目还为参与的本科生和研究生提供先进的技术培训，为他们未来在科学、工程和教育领域的职业生涯做好准备。特别强调的是通过积极的本科生参与这项研究，将实验和概念纳入华盛顿大学的本科课程，接待来自本科院校的教师和学生作为华盛顿大学的访问科学家，并在西雅图地区的社区学院和高中开展成熟的外展活动，将研究和教育整合到本科水平。技术概述：本研究正在开发基于镧系和过渡金属掺杂半导体量子点的新型胶体发光纳米材料，该材料具有前所未有的光物理和磁光特性，与先进的信息处理、成像、光谱转换和能量转换技术相关。综合合成、光谱学、光物理和磁光方法的平衡研究工作正在被应用于对控制这些材料物理性质的结构/功能关系的基本理解。本项目旨在深入了解掺杂量子点中的延迟发光和激子磁极化子现象，开发利用延迟发光探测量子点表面电子陷阱的新方法，阐明镧系掺杂量子点的磁光特性，并将研究发现转化为可专利技术和教育工具。这项研究将产生新的基础科学见解，将定义这些材料的制造和理解方式，并将加速基于这些材料的应用技术的出现，包括信息处理、光谱转换、成像和能量转换技术。

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARYDoped semiconductor nanostructures are ubiquitous in energy conversion, energy storage, photocatalysis, information processing, and information storage technologies, and they are central to numerous futuristic device technologies including spin-based electronics. With support from the Solid State and Materials Chemistry program in the Division of Materials Research, this project is generating new forms of matter on nanometer length scales made from semiconductors doped with impurities. This project is also applying sophisticated physical measurement techniques to elucidate the technologically relevant physical properties of these doped nanocrystals. The knowledge gained from this project has broad implications for each of these technologies. In addition to yielding new fundamental scientific knowledge and new forms of matter, this project is also providing advanced technical training for participating undergraduate and graduate students to prepare them for future careers in science, engineering, and education. Special emphasis is being placed on integrating research and education at the undergraduate level through aggressive involvement of undergraduates in this research, incorporation of experiments and concepts from this research into the University of Washington undergraduate curriculum, hosting faculty and students from undergraduate institutions as visiting scientists at University of Washington, and mature outreach activities at Seattle-area community colleges and high schools.TECHNICAL SUMMARYThis research is developing new colloidal luminescent nanomaterials based on lanthanide- and transition-metal doped semiconductor quantum dots that show unprecedented photophysical and magneto-optical properties relevant to advanced information-processing, imaging, spectral conversion, and energy conversion technologies. A balanced research effort integrating synthetic, spectroscopic, photophysical, and magneto-optical methodologies is being applied to develop a fundamental understanding of the structure/function relationships that govern the physical properties of these materials. This project targets a thorough understanding of delayed luminescence and excitonic magnetic polaron phenomena in doped quantum dots, development of new methodologies for exploiting delayed luminescence to probe quantum dot surface electron traps, elucidation of the magneto-optical properties of lanthanide-doped quantum dots, and translation of research discoveries into patentable technologies and educational tools. This research will yield new fundamental scientific insights that will define the ways such materials are made and understood, and will accelerate the emergence of applied technologies based on such materials, including in information processing, spectral conversion, imaging, and energy conversion technologies.