Model for the off-time distribution in blinking quantum dots

The understanding of blinking quantum dots (QDs) is an open problem since more than a decade. We have investigated the off-time distribution of a semiconductor QD on the basis of an Auger-induced release process of an electron deeply trapped in the QD shell. This release process has not yet been treated in the literature explicitly and starts with the optical generation of an additional electron–hole pair in the off-state of a QD, characterized by a valence band hole in the core and a trapped electron in the shell. This additional pair subsequently recombines and the recombination energy is transferred by an Auger process to the trapped electron. We discuss the efficiency of the release process as compared to the quenching process. For a deep trap occupation density ∼ 1 / r 0 6 ( r 0 is the trap distance from the QD center) and a Förster-like release rate, we arrive at an off-time distribution ∼ 1 / t off α with α = 3 / 2 in agreement with experimental findings in many QDs.