Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology

The burgeoning demand for commercializing self-luminescing quantum dots (QD) light-emitting diodes (LEDs) has stimulated extensive research into environmentally friendly and efficient QD materials. Hydrofluoric acid (HF) additive improves photoluminescence (PL) properties of blue-emitting ZnSeTe QDs, ultimately reaching a remarkable quantum yield (QY) of 97% with an ultra-narrow peak width of 14 nm after sufficient HF addition. The improvement in optical properties of the QDs is accompanied by a morphology change of the particles, forming cubic-shaped defect-free ZnSeTe QDs characterized by a zinc-blende crystal structure. This treatment improves QD emitting properties by facilitating facet-specific growth, selectively exposing stabilized (100) facets, and reducing the lattice disorders. The facet-specific growth process gives rise to defect-free cubic dots that exhibit remarkably narrow and homogeneous PL spectra.