Electrically driven light emission from single colloidal quantum dots at room temperature

Light emission from single colloidal CdSe∕ZnS (core/shell) nanocrystals embedded in electrically driven organic light emitting devices is demonstrated at room temperature. Spectral diffusion and blinking from individual quantum dots were observed both in electro- and photoluminescence. The authors propose a model in which the nanocrystals act as seeds for the formation of current channels that lead to enhanced exciton recombination in the vicinity of the quantum dots. This work demonstrates that individual semiconductor nanocrystals can serve as emissive probes in organic light emitting devices and that they can be used to manipulate device structure and properties at the nanometer scale.