CuS Nanoparticle Grating for Directional Photoluminescence Enhancement of NIR Quantum Dots

Varvara Alabusheva^a, Vadim Zakomirnyi^b, Sezer Seçkin^c, Jakob Lindenthal^d, Gabriele Carelli^c, Swagato Sarkar^c, Vladimir Lesnyak^a

^aPhysical Chemistry, TU Dresden, Zellescher Weg 19, 01069 Dresden, Germany

^bLight, nanomaterials, nanotechnologies (L2n), UMR CNRS 7076, Université de Technologie de Troyes, 12 rue Marie Curie, 10004 Troyes, France

^cLeibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V., Hohe Straße 6, 01069 Dresden, Germany

^dDresden Integrated Center for Applied Physics and Photonic Materials (IAPP) and Institute of Applied Physics, TU Dresden, Nöthnitzer Str. 61, 01187 Dresden, Germany

Proceedings of MATSUS Spring 2026 Conference (MATSUSSpring26)

C2 Advances in low-dimensional Nanocrystals: Fundamental approaches and technological perspectives

Barcelona, Spain, 2026 March 23rd - 27th

Organizers: Zhuoying Chen, Fabian Paulus, Carmelita Rodà and Matteo Zaffalon

Oral, Varvara Alabusheva, presentation 344
Publication date: 15th December 2025

Copper sulfide (CuS) semiconductor nanoparticles exhibit localized surface plasmon resonances in the near-infrared (NIR) range via vacancy-induced charge carriers [1], enabling plasmon-assisted enhancement of photoluminescence of quantum dots (QDs) [2]. Periodic plasmonic structures can simultaneously raise excitation fields [3], increase radiative decay rates (via Purcell effect) [4], and decouple emission into well-defined angles via hybrid plasmonic modes. Periodic metal plasmonic nanostructures [4-6] as well as lithography-processed Si-based metasurfaces [7] are reported to enhance and direct the spontaneous emission of NIR QDs. An alternative approach for metasurfaces preparation is laser interference lithography [8], which allows scalable and reproducible grating fabrication for controllable directional light extraction from nanoparticle arrays.

In this work, we designed a mask‑compatible CuS semiconductor stripe grating that can enhance and redirect NIR (800–1300 nm) QD emission. CuS hexagonal nanoplatelets were densely packed into stripes with a period of 600−900 nm, thickness of 40 nm, and width of 90 nm on a glass substrate. The particles were first drop-cast from their concentrated colloidal solution and then were shaped into regular stripes on top of a 10 nm thick CuS nanoparticle layer with the use of a soft polydimethylsiloxane mask. The grating morphology was investigated with atomic force microscopy. For simulations we used Ansys Lumerical FDTD software with periodic Bloch boundary conditions for in‑plane symmetry and perfectly matched layers above and below the structure. Plane‑wave excitation was used with polarization oriented across the stripes and monitors were placed before and after the structure to collect its reflection and transmission power, respectively. Field maps around stripes demonstrate the enhancement of electromagnetic field distribution around the structure. Simulations predict lattice–assisted plasmon resonance hybridization with 2–5-fold radiative‑rate enhancement and more than 3-fold local field enhancement due to efficient coupling.

References:

[1] Luther, J. M.; Jain, P. K.; Ewers, T.; Alivisatos, A. P. Localized surface plasmon resonances arising from free carriers in doped quantum dots. Nat. Mater. 2011, 10, 361–366.

[2] Agrawal, A.; Cho, S. H.; Zandi, O.; Ghosh, S.; Johns, R. W.; Milliron, D. J. Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance in Semiconductor Nanocrystals. Chem. Rev. 2018, 118, 3121–3207.

[3] Kumar, A.; Weeber, J.-C.; Bouhelier, A.; Eloi, F.; Buil, S.; Quélin, X.; Nasilowski, M.; Dubertret, B.; Hermier, J.-P.; Colas des Francs, G. Spatially uniform enhancement of single quantum dot emission using plasmonic grating decoupler. Sci. Rep. 2015, 5, 16796.

[4] Sergeeva, K. A.; Pavlov, D. V.; Seredin, A. A.; Mitsai, E. V.; Sergeev, A. A.; Modin, E. B.; Sokolova, A. V.; Lau, T. C.; Baryshnikova, K. V.; Petrov, M. I.; Kershaw, S. V.; Kuchmizhak, A. A.; Wong, K. S.; Rogach, A. L. Laser-Printed Plasmonic Metasurface Supporting Bound States in the Continuum Enhances and Shapes Infrared Spontaneous Emission of Coupled HgTe Quantum Dots. Adv. Funct. Mater. 2023, 33, 2307660.

[5] Dabard, C.; Bossavit, E.; Dang, T. H.; Ledos, N.; Cavallo, M.; Khalili, A.; Zhang, H.; Alchaar, R.; Patriarche, G.; Vasanelli, A.; Diroll, B. T.; Degiron, A.; Lhuillier, E.; Ithurria, S. Electroluminescence and Plasmon-Assisted Directional Photoluminescence from 2D HgTe Nanoplatelets. J. Phys. Chem. C 2023, 127, 14847–14855.

[6] Bossavit, E.; Dang, T. H.; He, P.; Cavallo, M.; Khalili, A.; Dabard, C.; Zhang, H.; Gacemi, D.; Silly, M. G.; Abadie, C.; Gallas, B.; Pierucci, D.; Todorov, Y.; Sirtori, C.; Diroll, B. T.; Degiron, A.; Lhuillier, E.; Vasanelli, A. Plasmon-Assisted Directional Infrared Photoluminescence of HgTe Nanocrystals. Adv. Optical Mater. 2023, 11, 2300863.

[7] Guo, J.; Jin, R.; Fu, Z.; Zhang, Y.; Yu, F.; Chen, J.; Wang, X.; Huang, L.; Zhou, C.; Chen, X.; Lu, W.; Li, G. Topologically Engineered High-Q Quasi-BIC Metasurfaces for Enhanced Near-Infrared Emission in PbS Quantum Dots. Nano Lett. 2025, 25, 2357–2365.

[8] Seçkin, S.; Sarkar, S.; König, T. A. F. Advancement in Colloidal Metasurfaces: Approaches for Scalable Photonic Devices. Adv. Mater. Interfaces 2025, 12, 2400934.

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