Manipulating emission of CdTeSe nanocrystals embedded in three-dimensional photonic crystals

We report experimental and theoretical results on the photoluminescence of CdTeSe nanocrystals, embedded in a silica opaline structure by infiltration of a highly diluted solution. Strong modification of emission diagrams of embedded nanocrystals have been observed in good agreement with theoretical models. At macroscopic scale, we measured the difference of nanocrystals emission lifetime embedded either in an opal for which the emission is in the gap, or in an opal of smaller balls diameter for which the emission is outside the gap. The photonic bandgap effect leads to a lifetime increase of the order of 10%. These lifetime variations are shown to be in good agreement with the calculated local density of states modification due to the pseudogap. (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3129311]