Structural and orientation effects on electronic energy transfer between silicon quantum dots with dopants and with silver adsorbates

Starting from the atomic structure of silicon quantum dots (QDs), and utilizing ab initio electronic structure calculations within the Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) treatment, a model has been developed to characterize electronic excitation energy transfer between QDs. Electronic energy transfer rates, K-EET, between selected identical pairs of crystalline silicon quantum dots systems, either bare, doped with Al or P, or adsorbed with Ag and Ag-3, have been calculated and analyzed to extend previous work on light absorption by QDs. The effects of their size and relative orientation on energy transfer rates for each system have also been considered. Using time-dependent density functional theory and the hybrid functional HSE06, the FRET treatment was employed to model electronic energy transfer rates within the dipole-dipole interaction approximation. Calculations with adsorbed Ag show that: (a) addition of Ag increases rates up to 100 times, (b) addition of Ag-3 increases rates up to 1000 times, (c) collinear alignment of permanent dipoles increases transfer rates by an order of magnitude compared to parallel orientation, and (d) smaller QD-size increases transfer due to greater electronic orbitals overlap. Calculations with dopants show that: (a) p-type and n-type dopants enhance energy transfer up to two orders of magnitude, (b) surface-doping with P and center-doping with Al show the greatest rates, and (c) KEET is largest for collinear permanent dipoles when the dopant is on the outer surface and for parallel permanent dipoles when the dopant is inside the QD. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.