Size dependence of upconversion photoluminescence in MPA capped CdTe quantum dots: Existence of upconversion bright point

Abstract The photoluminescence (PL) from semiconductor quantum dots can show a “PL bright point”, that is the PL from as prepared quantum dots is maximum at a particular size. In this work we show that, for CdTe quantum dots, upconversion photoluminescence (UCPL) originating from nonlinear absorption shows a similar “UCPL bright point”. The PL and UCPL bright points occur at nearly the same size. The existence of a UCPL bright point has important implications for upconversion microscopy applications.