Effect of X-ray Irradiation on the Blinking of CdSe/ZnS Nanocrystals

Sammanfattning: Different semiconductor nanocrystals exhibit size dependent properties due to confinement effect. Light emission from these nanocrystals may turn ON and OFF seemingly at random, an effect known as blinking. In this work blinking studies have been done to monitor the effect of X-ray exposure and to investigate the radiation hardness of CdSe/ZnS QD’s. Correct parameters to dilute and spin-coat the obtained sample were found to get access to individual single dots. Blinking of these dots was analyzed using Image J and MATLAB plug-in, where ON and OFF-times distribution power exponents Mon and Moff have been extracted to see the change in emission intermittency after a total cumulative dose of ~1026 Gy (absorbed by SiO2) in steps. It was observed that blinking was quenched and consequently the QD’s went permanently to off state as a result of X-ray exposure.