NRL Scientists Identify New Class of Semiconductor Nanocrystals

Home / Articles / External / Government

Alexander Efros (left), Ph.D., U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) senior scientist; John Lyons (center), Ph.D., NRL physical scientist; and Michael Swift, Ph.D., NRL research physicist, gather for a group photo in the Materials Science and Technology facility in Washington, D.C., July 25, 2024. The team performs basic and applied research on functional, structural, and electronic materials systems. (U.S. Navy photo by Sarah Peterson)
Alexander Efros (left), Ph.D., U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) senior scientist; John Lyons (center), Ph.D., NRL physical scientist; and Michael Swift (right), Ph.D., NRL research physicist, gather for a group photo in the Materials Science and Technology facility in Washington, D.C., July 25, 2024. The team performs basic and applied research on functional, structural, and electronic materials systems (U.S. Navy photo by Sarah Peterson).

August 20, 2024 | Originally published by U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) on July 31, 2024

WASHINGTON – U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) scientists confirm the identification of a new class of semiconductor nanocrystals with bright ground-state excitons, a significant advancement in the field of optoelectronics, in an article recently published in the American Chemical Society (ACS) journal ACS Nano.

The groundbreaking theoretical research could revolutionize the development of highly efficient light-emitting devices and other technologies.

Generally, the lowest-energy exciton in nanocrystals is poorly emitting, earning the name “dark” exciton. Because it slows the emission of light, the dark exciton limits the performance of nanocrystal-based devices like lasers or light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Scientists have long sought to overcome the dark exciton.

Focus Areas