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Copyright 2004 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2004 by Marcel Dekker, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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6Optical Dynamics in SingleSemiconductor Quantum DotsK. T. Shimizu and M. G. BawendiMassachusetts Institute of Technology,Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.A.I. INTRODUCTIONIn the pursuit to realize the potential of semiconductor nanocrystallite quantumdots (QDs) as nanomaterials for future biological and solid-state, electro-opticalapplications [1–4], the exact photophysics of these colloidal QDsbecomes ever more significant. Although these QDs have been described asartificial atoms because of their proposed discrete energy levels [5,6], theydiffer from elemental atoms in their inherent size inhomogeneity. The sizedependent,quantum-confined properties that make this material novel alsohinder the particles from being studied in detail. In other words, spectral andemission intensity features may vary for each QD depending on their size,shape, and degree of defect passivation. This disparity in the sample can leadto ensemble averaging, where the average value masks the individual’s distinctiveproperties [7]. As the ultimate limit in achieving a narrow size distributionfor physical study, we examine the QDs on an individual basis. Muchwork has been done in the field of single-molecule spectroscopy [8–11], investigatingabsorption, emission, lifetime, and polarization properties of thesemolecules. In this review, we focus on the mechanisms underlying the dynamicinhomogeneities—spectral diffusion and fluorescence intermittency—observed in the emission properties of single CdSe and CdTe colloidal QDs.Described frequently in a myriad of single chromophore studies [12–16],spectral diffusion refers to discrete and continuous changes in the emittingwavelength as a function of time, whereas fluorescence intermittency refers to<strong>Copyright</strong> <strong>2004</strong> <strong>by</strong> <strong>Marcel</strong> <strong>Dekker</strong>, <strong>Inc</strong>. <strong>All</strong> <strong>Rights</strong> <strong>Reserved</strong>.

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