The invited speakers came to St. Petersburg on June 27 - July 1 to present their papers. They also met with colleagues from International Research and Education Center for Physics of Nanostructures.
The experts gave their talks and participated in a poster session devoted to applications and development of photonic colloidal nanostructures. These structures are semiconductor, metal and dielectric crystals that can be connected with molecules and chemical particles as well as used as parts of functional heterostructures.
The applications of quantum heterostructures are various. To understand why the cell parts can be lit one has to go deeper into peculiarities of colloidal nanocrystals such as quantum dots and nanoplatelets. They absorb light very effectively and accumulate the energy inside. The release of energy provokes electronic transfers. Currently the researchers can regulate the length of wave radiation because a rate of the energy transfer depends on particle size. Thus “small” particles radiate blue light, “medium” ones radiate green or yellow while “large” particles’ light is red. Previously researchers had to use different materials to obtain this kind of light spectrum.
If one attaches luminescent quantum dot to a nanoparticle this combination will turn into a hybrid structure without luminescence because light energy absorbed by the dot is captured by this particle. However if to use indicating molecule as a nanoparticle the quantum will not lose its’ luminescent ability. The absorption spectrum changes under the influence of detectable molecules appearing in the environment. Thus the hybrid structure serves as a sensor, which can be applied as, for example, to blood composition analyzing, for explosive detection and so forth.
Moreover the features of these nanostructures can upgrade the effectiveness of solar panels. Modern photovoltaic modules don’t absorb infrared radiation. However if one develops modules based on a hybrid structure with quantum dots the devices will absorb all light waves regardless of their length and frequency.
Apart from presentations the speakers of the conference also visited International Research and Education Center for Physics of Nanostructures. According to Alexander Baranov, co-chair of the Program Committee and ITMO University’s professor, the participants appreciated professional competencies of Russian researchers and high-quality equipment needed for synthesis of colloidal nanocrystals of different types.
“Our Center includes both educational and research units. Bachelor, Master’s and PhD students study at Chair of Optical Physics and Modern Natural Science and then continue their academic activities at Department of Optical Physics and Modern Natural Science. We give young researchers an opportunity to join real experiments, deal with modern equipment and also teach them how to write scientific articles,” said the professor.
ITMO University students also gave their speeches at PCNSPA Conference. At this meeting they managed to share results of their research projects, learn modern trends in photonics as well as meet leading scientists contributing to this field. The international academics also discussed further scientific collaboration with ITMO University specialists. The next PCNSPA Conference will take place in 2018.
