Probing the Fluorescence Dipoles of Single Cubic CdSe/CdS Nanoplatelets with Vertical or Horizontal Orientations

Measuring the orientation of a single fluorescent nanoemitter and obtaining emitters with a desired orientation is of highest importance for nanophotonics, especially in plasmonics where an emitting dipole close to a metallic surface will couple efficiently to plasmonic modes only if it is deposited vertically. Control of the orientation of a nano-object remains a challenge. Achieving vertical orientation, or having an information on the dipole orientation are key steps for efficient plasmonic excitation. We consider here cubic-shaped nanoplatelets with a thin CdSe core sandwiched in a thick CdS shell. By a combination of polarization measurement and radiation pattern Fourier analysis, we show that each single platelet behaves with excellent precision as a 2D dipole (sum of 2 orthogonal incoherent dipoles) and having only two possible orientations: either they lie horizontally on the substrate or they stand vertically on the edge. The cubic shape allows some platelets to deposit vertically so that they present a deterministic vertical dipole component.