Mercury Chalcogenide Quantum Dots: Material Perspective for Device Integration

Nanocrystals (NCs) are one of the few nanotechnologies to have attained mass market applications with their use as light sources for displays. This success relies on Cd- and In-based wide bandgap materials. NCs are likely to be employed in more applications as they provide a versatile platform for optoelectronics, specifically, infrared optoelectronics. The existing material technologies in this range of wavelengths are generally not cost-effective, which limits the spread of technologies beyond a few niche domains, such as defense and astronomy. Among the potential candidates to address the infrared window, mercury chalcogenide (HgX) NCs exhibit the highest potential in terms of performance. In this review, we discuss how material developments have facilitated device enhancements. Because these materials are mainly used for their infrared optical features, we first review the strategies for their colloidal growth and their specific electronic structure. The review is organized considering three main device-related applications: light emission, electronic transport, and infrared photodetection.