Rapid Trapping as the Origin of Nonradiative Recombination in Semiconductor Nanocrystals

We demonstrate that nonradiative recombination in semiconductor nanocrystals can be described by a rapid luminescence intermittency, based on carrier tunneling to resonant traps. Such process, we call it “rapid trapping (blinking)”, leads to delayed luminescence and promotes Auger recombination, thus lowering the quantum efficiency. To prove our model, we probed oxide- (containing static traps) and ligand- (trap-free) passivated silicon nanocrystals emitting at similar energies and featuring monoexponential blinking statistics. This allowed us to find analytical formulas and to extract characteristic trapping/detrapping rates, and quantum efficiency as a function of temperature and excitation power. Experimental single-dot temperature-dependent decays, supporting the presence of one or few resonant static traps, and ensemble saturation curves were found to be very well described by this effect. The model can be generalized to other semiconductor nanocrystals, although the exact interplay of trapping/detra...