Optical studies of single CdSe quantum rods

Summary form only given. Recently, it has been demonstrated that the shape of CdSe nanocrystals can be manipulated by controlling the growth kinetics (Peng et al, Nature, vol. 404, p. 59, 2000). The resulting nanostructures can be from a nearly spherical morphology to a rod-like one. The quantum confined nano-rods (quantum rods) can grow up to 200 nm long with an aspect ratio of up to 50. The successful growth of these rod- and wire-like structures provides a testing ground for studying the shape-dependent electronic and optical properties of nanocrystals and the quantum confinement effects in one-dimensional (1D) and quasi-1D regime, and in comparison with much characterized zero-dimensional (OD) quantum-dot system. Consequently, studies of quantum-rod system will explore another dimension for device applications of colloidal nanocrystals. In this paper, we report the optical studies of single CdSe quantum rods using far-field microscopic techniques.