Quantitative description of the temporal behavior of the internalMn3d5luminescence in ensembles ofZn0.99Mn0.01Squantum dots

Abstract

We present an important step in resolving a long-standing controversy regarding the lifetime of the internal ${\mathrm{Mn}}^{2+}$ $3{d}^{5}$ emission in $\mathrm{ZnS}$ nanoparticles. Transients of the luminescence have been measured over more than five orders of magnitude in intensity, and in the time slot from $50\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{ns}$ to $20\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{ms}$. We show that the nonexponential decay behavior of the internal $3{d}^{5}$ luminescence of ensembles of ${\mathrm{Zn}}_{0.99}{\mathrm{Mn}}_{0.01}\mathrm{S}$ quantum dots is a result of the killer center statistics within the dot ensemble, and thus an intrinsic effect of the Mn-doped II-VI nanoparticles.