Colloidal CdTe/HgTe quantum dots with high photoluminescence quantum efficiency at room temperature

Abstract
We have used an aqueous colloidal growth technique to form hybrid CdTe/HgTe quantum dots with a broad, strong fluorescence in the infrared (800–1200 nm). The quantum efficiency is high, around 44%, when pumped in the visible (488 nm), and the excited state lifetime is around 130 ns, making the material interesting as an optical amplifier medium. Using a pump-probe experiment, we have demonstrated weak optical amplification in a dilute aqueous suspension of CdTe/HgTe dots in the short wavelength wing of the emission spectrum at 808 nm.