The role of stress in CdTe quantum dot doped glasses

In this work, we unequivocally demonstrate the influence of matrix-related stresses on quantum dots by measuring, side by side, a CdTe quantum dot doped glass and a colloidal sample with similar sizes. We measured the fluorescence spectra and fluorescence lifetime for both samples as a function of the temperature. We show that the expansion coefficient mismatch between CdTe quantum dots and the glass host causes stresses and drastically changes its behavior compared to its colloidal counterpart, even leading to phase transitions. This finding indicates that most experimental data on glass-doped quantum dots used to validate confinement models should be revised, taking stress into account.