Study of optical absorption and photoluminescence of quantum dots of CdS formed in borosilicate glass matrix

Abstract

Optical absorption and photoluminescence (PL) measurements have been made on the quantum dots (QDs) of CdS grown in a borosilicate glass matrix using a two-step annealing technique. The absorption measurements, made in the energy range of 1.3-3.2 eV, indicate the presence of nonradiative trap centers located in the forbidden gap at an energy level near 1.5 eV. The origin of these traps is attributed to the impurities present in the glass matrix. The PL measurements have been made at an excitation energy of 2.75 eV and it is concluded that the origin of PL is not due to either direct recombination of electrons and holes or deep traps, but that it is the shallow traps which are responsible for the observed PL. The shallow traps are attributed to sulfur vacancies formed at the glass-QD interface. The reason for the observed decrease in PL peak intensity with the increase of annealing time is due to the decrease of surface to volume ratio for QDs of higher size. © 2009 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.