Novel nano-structured glasses containing semiconductor quantum dots: controlling the photoluminescence with phonons and photons

Effects of temperatures and excitation intensities on the photoluminescence properties of PbS quantum dots precipitated in the glass were investigated. Peak wavelength of the near-infrared photoluminescence shifted towards the short wavelength side with an increase in temperature and excitation intensity. The largest shift in the peak wavelength of the photoluminescence bands was approximately 90 nm. The temperature coefficient of band gap energy (deduced from the photoluminescence wavelength) of quantum dots varied from 230 to 28 mu eV/K under the excitation intensity of 50-600 mW. The integrated photoluminescence intensity also showed similar dependencies on temperature and excitation intensity. The shifts of the photoluminescence with changes in the temperature and excitation intensity were associated with the trapping and re-activation of charge carriers at defect sites located at the QDs/glass interface and inside the glass matrix.