Discovery Could Lead to Materials with Brighter, Faster Light Emission

Scientists have discovered why a certain class of nanocrystals — caesium lead halide quantum dots — shines in such bright colors. They have also confirmed that these nanocrystals emit light extremely quickly. Previously studied quantum dots typically emit light about 20 ns after excitation at room temperature. Experiments showed that caesium lead halide quantum dots emit light at room temperature after just 1 ns.

“These tiny crystals have proved to be extremely bright and fast emitting light sources, brighter and faster than any other type of quantum dot studied so far,” said professor Maksym Kovalenko of ETH Zurich and Empa.