CdSe colloidal nanocrystals monolithically integrated in a pseudomorphic semiconductor epilayer

As optically active emitters in a semiconductor matrix, core/shell and bare CdSe colloidal nanocrystals (CNCs) were monolithically incorporated in ZnSe pseudomorphic epilayers by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). A suspension of wet chemically synthesized CNCs was sprayed ex-situ over a pseudomorphic ZnSe/GaAs(001) heterostructure using a nebulizer. Subsequently, the matrix material growth was resumed to form a capping layer by a slow MBE growth mode. Structural investigations show high crystalline quality and pseudomorphic epitaxial character of the whole hybrid CNC-matrix structure. The core/shell CNCs remain optically active following the embedding process. Their emission is blue shifted without a significant change on the spectral shape, and shows the same temperature dependence as that of the free exciton peak energy in zinc-blende CdSe at temperatures above 80 K. Our optical characterization of the samples showed that the embedded CNCs were stable and that the structure of the host was preserved. These results are encouraging for the fabrication of more complex optoelectronic devices based on CNCs.