Silicon Quantum Dot-Polymer Fabry-Perot Resonators with Narrowed and Tunable Emissions

Luminescent silicon nanoparticles have been widely recognized as an alternative for metal-based quantum dots (QDs) for optoelectronics partly because of the high abundance and biocompatibility of silicon. To date, the broad photoluminescence line width (often >100 nm) of silicon QDs has been a hurdle to achieving competitive spectral purity and incorporating them into lightemitting devices. Herein we report fabrication and testing of straightforward configuration of Fabry-Perot resonators that incorporates a thin layer of SiQD-polymer hybrid/blend between two reflective silver mirrors; remarkably these devices exhibit up-to-14-fold narrowing of SiQD emission and achieve a spectral bandwidth as narrow as ca. 9 nm. Our polymer-based, SiQD-containing Fabry-Perot resonators also provide convenient spectral tunability, can be prepared using a variety of polymer hosts and substrates, and enable rigid as well as flexible devices.

Automated summary

By incorporating a thin layer of SiQD-polymer hybrid/blend between two reflective silver mirrors in a straightforward configuration of Fabry-Perot resonators, the emission of silicon quantum dots can be significantly narrowed, achieving a spectral bandwidth as narrow as ca. 9 nm. These polymer-based devices offer convenient spectral tunability and can be prepared using a variety of polymer hosts and substrates, enabling rigid as well as flexible devices.