Electrohydrodynamic ink jet printing has been used to print CsPbBr3 nanocrystals into very small features, with spot sizes down to only a few hundred nanometers across. The nanocrystals survive the printing, and even spontaneously self-organize into superlattices. This printing method allows deterministic placement of the nanocrystals onto various kinds of surfaces. For example, using this method, it was possible to print CsPbBr3 nanocrystals onto photonic cavities, which then showed sharp cavity-coupled emission at its grating ends.
These results demonstrate a powerful approach to integrating colloidal nanocrystals into complex architectures to create entirely new photonic structures. The approach is versatile and can be adapted to print other nanocrystals developed by MEM-C's IRG-1 to form new heirarchical structures, helping this MRSEC achieve its goals of exploiting the photonic properties of defects in colloidal nanocrystals to advance future technologies.
