Inhomogeneous photon emission properties of self-assembled metallic nanocrystals

Nanocrystal particle mobility and quenching of photon emission are reported to be correlated, During a study of photon emission from self-organized ar rays of nanocrystals induced by interaction with the tip of a scanning tunn eling microscope (STM), a comparison of photon maps with STM images reveale d large variations in photon emission efficiency depending on how tightly a nanoparticle is embedded in the hexagonal network. This quenching-mobility correlation is explained in terms of electron relaxation processes involvi ng the nanocrystals' surface phonon modes.