Abstract
Multifrequency electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) investigations were performed on small (2 nm) cubic ZnS nanocrystals (quantum dots–QDs) doped with 0.2% mol , self-assembled into a mesoporous structure. The EPR data analysis shows that the substitutional ions are localized at sites subjected to a local axial lattice distortion, resulting in the observed zero-field-splitting parameter . The local distortion is attributed to the presence in the second shell of ligands of a stacking fault or twin, which alters the normal stacking sequence of the cubic structure. The HRTEM results confirm the presence of such extended planar defects in a large percentage of the investigated QDs, which makes possible the proposed substitutional impurity ions localization model. Based on these results it is suggested that the high doping levels of ions observed in cubic ZnS and possible in other II-VI semiconductor QDs prepared at low temperatures can be explained by the assistance of the extended lattice defects in the impurities incorporation.
- Received 6 October 2009
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.81.035336
©2010 American Physical Society