IEEE JOURNAL OF QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 49, NO.

3, MARCH 2013

325

All-Inorganic Light-Emitting Diodes

Based on Solution-Processed Nontoxic and
Earth-Abundant Nanocrystals
Saikat Bhaumik and Amlan J. Pal

Abstract We fabricate and characterize light-emitting diodes

(LEDs) based on thin-films of NiO, Mn-doped ZnS, and
n-ZnO nanoparticles acting as hole-transporting, emitting,
and electron-transporting layers, respectively. We vary the
thickness of the individual layers and record currentvoltage and
luminancecurrent characteristics. By examining the fitting of
the currentvoltage characteristics of these all-inorganic LEDs,
we find that the hole- and electron-transporting layers lower
barrier heights for hole- and electron-injection from the respective electrodes that correspondingly improve electro-luminescence
(EL) output. The photoluminescence emission of Mn-doped ZnS
nanoparticles and EL emission of the LEDs resembled implying
that excitons formed in the doped nanostructures followed by a
radiative transition between d-states of Mn-ions.
Index Terms All-inorganic light-emitting diodes, d-states of
Mn-ions, Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles, NiO, ZnO nanoparticles.

I. I NTRODUCTION

VER the years, organic/polymeric light-emitting diodes

(LEDs) evolved from simple single-layered sandwichedstructures to complex multilayered ones with the addition of
hole- and electron-injecting/transporting layers, so that holeand electron-injections could be enhanced, and more importantly, balanced to improve the device efficiency [1], [2]. In the
course of time, quantum dots (QDs) were included in organic
layers of LEDs so that carrier injection and/or transport could
be augmented and balanced with assistance from the inorganic
semiconductor [3][7]. The nanomaterials that have been used
were metallic [4], oxides [5], semiconducting [3], [6], and
also carbon-based nanostructures [7]. They have been included
in each of the three layers, namely, hole- and electrontransporting and emitting layer of sandwiched structures of
LEDs. Epitaxial layers of quantum dots or quantum dot/well
hybrids have also been used in LEDs [8], [9]. Efforts have
also been made to achieve white light following the CIE color
space chromaticity diagram [10].
With the advent of solution-processed QDs, dispersed solutions or inks of the nanocrystals are being used to form thinManuscript received October 12, 2012; revised January 23, 2013; accepted
January 27, 2013. Date of publication February 6, 2013; date of current version
February 14, 2013. This work was supported by the Ramanna Fellowship
under Grant SR/S2/RFCMP-01/2009 and Project SR/NM/NS-55/2008. The
work of S. Bhaumik was funded by a CSIR Junior Research Fellowship
under Grant 09/080(0692)/2010-EMR-I.
The authors are with the Department of Solid State Physics, Indian
Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata 700032, India (e-mail:
sspsb@iacs.res.in; sspajp@iacs.res.in).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/JQE.2013.2245404

films via screen-printing, spun-cast, or dip-coated methods

[11][14]. When they are used as an emitting material in
quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QDLEDs), excitons may
form directly in the QDs [15]. They may also be generated
in organic layers followed by an energy-transfer to the QDs
so that electroluminescence (EL) emission appears from the
nanocrystals themselves [16], [17]. The EL emission can
hence be tuned by the diameter of QDs [3], [13]. Apart from
II-VI semiconducting nanoparticles, certain doped systems of
otherwise non-luminous nanocrystals (such as ZnS) are also
being used in the LEDs due to their stability and strong
photoluminescence (PL) emission with a long lifetime [17].
For the NIR region, PbS nanocrystals or InAs covered by
GaAsSb capping layers are being considered as an active
material for the LEDs [18], [19]. When Mn is used as dopants
having energies of their 3d electrons intermediate to bandedges of host nanocrystals (ZnS), the emission appears due to
a transition between d-states of Mn-ions [20]. The wavelength
of the PL emission hence did not depend on the concentration
of dopants. It neither depended on the diameter of the host
making the emission from nanocrystals unique [21].
In recent years, hole- and electron-transporting abilities
of quantum dots have caught the fancy of researchers. In
this direction, NiO and intrinsically n-type ZnO nanoparticles
emerged as hole- and electron-transporting materials, respectively [12], [15], [22][24]. Incorporation of such chargetransport layers are expected to lower the barrier heights of
carriers from the respective electrodes. In this work, we have
aimed for all-inorganic LEDs with Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles as the emitting material, so that the devices become
air-stable, all the layers are solution-processed, and content of
the layers are nontoxic and earth-abundant.
II. E XPERIMENTAL D ETAILS
Thin-films of NiO, Mn-doped ZnS, and ZnO nanoparticles, acting as hole-transporting, emitting, and electrontransporting layers, respectively, of three-layer LEDs were
grown following reported routes [21], [22]. In brief, NiO
nanoparticles were grown by reacting 0.4 M nickel acetate
tetrahydrate in methanol solution and an equimolar solution
of diethanolamine, which was added drop-wise under vigorous
stirring condition. Color of the solution changed from green
to blue implying formation of Ni(OH)2 sol-gel solution. The
solution could be spun and annealed in ambient condition to
obtain crystalline thin-films NiO.

1530437X/$31.00 2013 IEEE

326

Mn-doped ZnS nanocrystals with a shell layer of ZnS

to protect the nanostructures from the ambient have been
grown following reported routes [21]. The ZnS shell-layer
moreover is known to reduce blinking behavior of the
QDs [25]. In a typical synthesis, 0.126 g of Zn-stearate
(0.2 mM), 5 mg of Mn-stearate (0.008 mM), 32 mg of sulfur
powder (1 mM), 1.5 g of ODA (5.5 mM), and 15 mL of
ODE were loaded in a three-neck round-bottom flask (ODA:
octadecylamine; ODE: 1-octadecene). The mixed solution was
degassed at 100 C under oxygen-free environment by purging
argon for 15 min. Temperature of the mixed solution was
then increased to 270 C. Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles formed
at this temperature; after 5 min, temperature of the flask
was decreased to 240 C to stop the reaction. To form ZnS
shell on Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles, 1.26 g Zn-stearate
(2 mM), 0.586 g stearic acid (2 mM), and 10 mL ODE were
mixed together in a separate vial and degassed by purging
argon. 3 mL of this solution was injected in the reaction
flask containing Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles; reaction was
allowed to continue for 10 min. This formed ZnS as a shell
layer. Formation of the shell layer was repeated for two more
times. The Mn-doped ZnS nanocrystals, coated with ZnS shell
layer, were precipitated by adding excess amount of acetone
and chloroform in sequence to remove ODE. Methanol was
added to remove free amines and acids. Finally precipitated
nanocrystals capped with ODA were dispersed in hot hexane
to remove unreacted Zn-stearate.
ZnO nanoparticles were synthesized at a low-temperature
process reacting 20 mM zinc acetate dihydrate in
25 mL ethanol with 0.45 mL tetramethylammonium
hydroxide (TMAH) that was added drop-wise under a
vigorous stirring condition. The reactant was cooled after
5 min and washed by adding hexane followed by repeated
centrifugation. The precipitate was dried to separate out the
powder form of ZnO nanoparticles for film formation.
Thin-films of NiO and the nanoparticles were characterized
by recording their optical absorption and PL spectra. PL
emission in solution and in thin-films on quartz substrates
were recorded with a Spex Fluromax 4P Spectrofluorometer.
The nanoparticles were characterized by recording their X-ray
diffraction (XRD) spectrum and high-resolution transmission
electron microscopy (HR-TEM) images.
Devices were fabricated on indium tin oxide (ITO) coated
glass substrates. The electrodes were strips of 2 mm wide.
They were cleaned in soap solution, copious water, acetone,
methanol, and finally washed in hot 2-propanol. Ni(OH)2
solution was spun at four different speeds (3000, 4000, 5000,
and 6000 rpm) to achieve four thicknesses. The films were
annealed at 425 C for 10 min to obtain NiO thin-films.
The second layer of the LEDs was Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles. They were spun on NiO layer from chloroform solution
at 1600 rpm; concentration of the solution ranged between
10-40 mg/mL to obtain four different thicknesses of Mn-doped
ZnS nanoparticle layer. The films were annealed at 130 C in
an inert environment for 30 min.
ZnO nanoparticles, as an electron-transporting material,
were spun from 2-propanol solution (10 mg/mL) at 1600 rpm.
The films were annealed at 105 C for 10 min in an inert

IEEE JOURNAL OF QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 49, NO. 3, MARCH 2013

Fig. 1.

TEM and HR-TEM image of Mn-doped ZnS nanocrystals.

environment. As a top electrode, aluminum as strips (2 mm)

orthogonal to ITO ones, was thermally evaporated on top of
the films. This led to a device area of 4 mm2 .
For characterization, the devices were placed in a shielded
chamber having an inert environment. To record currentvoltage (I V ) characteristics, a Keithley 2636A Dual-channel
System SourceMeter Instrument was used. Bias was applied
to ITO electrode with respect to the top one. EL emission was
measured with a calibrated silicon photodiode coupled to a
Keithley 617 Electrometer. Thickness of the active layer was
determined by recording Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)
images and depth profile of an intentional scratch on the films.
The images were recorded with a Nanosurf Easy Scan2 AFM.
To record EL spectra, PL spectrometer was used after blocking
the excitation pathway; the devices, kept in a shielded vacuum
chamber having a quartz window, were biased with the source
of the source-meter.
III. R ESULTS AND D ISCUSSION
We have recorded TEM and HR-TEM images of Mn-doped
ZnS nanoparticles (Fig. 1). The TEM image shows that size
of the particles was uniform and mostly spherical. HR-TEM
image of a typical particle, as presented in the same figure,
shows that the diameter of the nanoparticles was about 5.5 nm.
Lattice spacing of the nanocrystals was about 0.292 nm that
matches well with spacing of <111> planes of ZnS crystals.
NiO and ZnO nanoparticles, acting as hole- and electrontransporting materials, respectively, of the LEDs do not emit.
Optical absorption of NiO thin-films and ZnO nanoparticles
in dispersed solution, as shown in Figs. 2(a) and 2(b), respectively, matched the reported results. Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles, on the other hand, absorb in the UV region and emit in
the 550650 nm region. Optical absorption and PL emission
spectra of the doped nanoparticles in chloroform are shown in
Fig. 2(c). The mirror-image relationship between absorption
and PL spectra is absent in Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles.
In such systems, while the absorption involves conduction
and valence band-edges of the host nanocrystals, the PL
emission appears due to transitions between Mn-ions d-states,
which have energies intermediate to band-edges of the host
nanocrystals. Energy transfer from band-edge excitation of
ZnS to one of the d-states of Mn-ions, followed by a radiative
transition between d-states of Mn, results in PL emission of
this doped nanocrystals.
We have fabricated LEDs based on Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles along with NiO as a hole-transporting layer. We first

0.4

Absorbance

0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
200

400

600

800

0.2

0.0

Absorbance

1.5

400

Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles

absorbance
PL

1.0

0.5

0.0

300

600

800

Wavelength (nm)
(b)

Wavelength (nm)
(a)
2.0

ZnO nanoparticles
in 2-propanol

400

500

600

PL Intensity (a.u.)

Absorbance

NiO thin-film

0.4

0.5

327

Current Density (A/cm )

BHAUMIK AND PAL: ALL-INORGANIC LEDs

NiO / Mn-doped ZnS

0.25
0.20

Ni(OH)2 solution
was spun at
6000 rpm
5000 rpm
4000 rpm
3000 rpm

0.15
0.10
0.05
0.00

Voltage (V)
(a)

700

Wavelength (nm)
(c)
Fig. 2. Optical absorption of (a) NiO thin-film and (b) ZnO nanoparticles in
2-propanol solution. (c) Optical absorption and PL spectra of Mn-doped ZnS
nanoparticles in chloroform solution.

optimized the thickness of the NiO layer. I V plots of

ITO/NiO/Mn-doped ZnS/Al devices for four thicknesses of
NiO layer are presented in Fig. 3(a). For each of the devices,
we have presented characteristics from three structures to show
the degree of reproducibility of the results.
The characteristics of the devices are nonlinear implying
semiconducting nature of the active layer. If we compare
the characteristics for different thicknesses of NiO layer, we
expectedly find that the current increases in devices having a
thinner layer of NiO nanocrystals. However, when we spun the
Ni(OH)2 solution at a too high speed (6000 rpm) that resulted
in an ultrathin layer of NiO nanocrystals (after annealing),
current did not increase further. Here, considering the fact that
the NiO film was acting as a hole-transport layer reducing the
barrier height for hole-injection from ITO, a sub-monolayer
of NiO might have formed with incomplete coverage, so that
hole injection no longer remained facile. This amounted to an
increase in hole-injecting barrier led by a decrease in hole-only
current of the LEDs.
We also have recorded EL intensity of the devices during
the voltage sweep. In Fig. 3(b), we present EL intensity
versus voltage plots of the devices. The plots show that the
EL appeared above a threshold voltage across the device.
The threshold voltage depended on the thickness of the holetransporting NiO layer. Since a uniform and ultrathin-layer of
NiO was enough to reduce barrier height for hole-injection,
further increase in the thickness of NiO layer was detrimental
to device performance. When the thickness of NiO layer
was ultralow (submonolayer), the threshold voltage for EL
generation was higher implying a higher barrier-height for
hole-injection; higher voltage was therefore necessary to

(b)
Fig. 3. (a) Currentvoltage and (b) luminancevoltage plots of ITO/NiO/Mndoped ZnS/Al devices. Thickness of the NiO layer has been varied by varying
the speed during spun-cast film formation. Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles were
spun from 10-mg/mL solution (1600 rpm).

overcome the barrier for hole-injection and to form excitons

that decayed radiatively to yield the EL emission.
After optimizing the thickness of hole-injecting NiO layer,
we aimed to vary the thickness of the active layer of LEDs,
that is, the layer of Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles. To do so,
we varied the concentration of Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticle
solution that was used to spin. I V characteristics of such
devices are shown in Fig. 4(a). The I V characteristics
can be fitted to J V n . Here, the factor n depends on the
charge conduction mechanism, temperature, and the density
and energy distribution of trap states in the active material.
At a lower voltage, n of the plots ranged between 1.0 and
1.5 implying ohmic conduction in the devices. At a higher
voltage, n was between 6 and 7 implying that the conduction
process changed to trap-limited one. The nonlinear characteristics yielded higher current (at any voltage) for thinner
devices. The EL versus voltage plots, as shown in Fig. 4(b)
responded in a similar fashion. The device with a thinner
active layer of Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles yielded EL at
a lower voltage. The EL output can also be plotted with
respect to the device current with applied voltage remaining an independent parameter. Such a plot, as presented in
Fig. 4(c), shows that the EL appeared above a threshold current. The threshold current did not depend on the thickness of

IEEE JOURNAL OF QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 49, NO. 3, MARCH 2013

2

0.1

0.0
0

10

10

0.2

10

10

-1

10

-2

10

-3

10

0.1

Voltage (V)

Voltage (V)

(a)

(b)

10

NiO / Mn-doped ZnS

Light Intensity (Cd/m )

10

Mn-doped ZnS
nanoparticles
were spun at
10 mg/mL
20 mg/mL
30 mg/mL
40 mg/mL

10

10

-1

10

-3
-4

-3

-2

10

10

with ZnO
without ZnO

-1

10

-2

10

-3

10

10

Fig. 5.
Luminance versus voltage plots of ITO/NiO/Mn-doped ZnS/Al
devices with and without a thin-film of n-ZnO as an electron-transporting
layer, that is, (1) ITO/NiO/Mn-doped ZnS/n-ZnO/Al and (2) ITO/NiO/Mndoped ZnS/Al devices.

10

10

10

Voltage (V)

-2

-5

NiO / Mn-doped ZnS / ZnO

0.1

10

10

Light intensity (Cd/m )

EL Intensity (Cd/m )

Current Density (A/cm )

328

-1

10

10
2

Current Density (A/cm )

(c)
Fig. 4.
(a) Currentvoltage, (b) luminancevoltage, and (c) luminance
current plots of different ITO/NiO/Mn-doped ZnS/Al devices. While the
thickness of the NiO layer was kept the same, the thickness of Mn-doped
ZnS nanoparticles was varied by varying the concentration of the solution for
spun-cast film formation.

Mn-doped ZnS layer in the devices. The EL output at any

current was higher for a thinner device implying that an
ultrathin layer of Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles was enough
as an active layer to form excitons followed by EL emission
in the LEDs. In thicker films, charge accumulation occurred
due to a large number of non-conducting capping ligands.
Due to a charge-accumulation, excitons, which formed due
to injected holes and electrons, quenched or decayed nonradiatively (Auger recombination) leading to a decrease in EL
emission.
To balance injection of electrons and holes in the LEDs,
we introduced electron-transporting n-ZnO in the devices. We
have observed that with the electron-transporting layer, EL
output can be achieved at a lower voltage (Fig. 5). That is,
with the electron-transporting layer, the barrier for electron
injection is reduced; electron-injection can hence occur at a
lower voltage. Imbalance in electron- and hole-injections must
have been reduced so that the injected holes from the ITO
electrode could find electrons (injected from Al electrode) to
form excitons that decay radiatively to yield EL emission.
Moreover, ZnO layer on top of the emitting nanoparticles
protects the latter from being in a direct contact with Al
electrode, which is known to quench PL and EL emissions of
the emitting layer of LEDs [12], [26], [27]. Nevertheless, the
LEDs with thin-films of NiO and n-ZnO nanoparticles acting
as hole- and electron-transporting materials, respectively, and
Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles as the emitting layer evidence
examples of all inorganic LEDs based on solution processed

nontoxic and earth-abundant nanoparticles.

The thesis of balancing hole and electron-injections with the
addition of NiO and n-ZnO nanoparticle layers, respectively,
add credence when we use the I V characteristics to
compare the barrier heights for injection of charge carriers.
To observe the effect of barrier height for holes, we first have
presented Fowler-Nordheim plots for ITO/Mn-doped ZnS/nZnO/Al and ITO/NiO/Mn-doped ZnS/n-ZnO/Al devices in
Fig. 6(a). Here, we aimed to compare the barrier heights from
the Fowler-Nordheim equation that is now being routinely
used in quantum dot based sandwiched structures to explain
tunneling current (J ) [28][31]:
J = (A 2 E 2 /) exp (B 3/2/ E)
The equation reduces to ln (J/E 2 ) 1/E with a factor
of 3/2 being the proportionality constant. Here, A and B are
constants, is the field-enhancement factor, E the electric
field, and is the barrier height.
A comparison of plots of ln (J/E 2 ) versus 1/E for devices
with and without hole-transport NiO layer, as presented in the
figure, shows that the slope of the plot that is proportional
to 3/2 , increased with the addition of the NiO layer. Since
holes are majority carriers in these devices, this implied that
the barrier height for holes decreased with the incorporation
of the hole-transport NiO layer.
Similarly, to verify if the n-ZnO layer assisted electron injection by lowering the electron barrier-height, we
have plotted ln (J/E 2 ) versus 1/E for devices with
and without electron-transport n-ZnO layer. The plots for
ITO/NiO/Mn-doped ZnS/Al and ITO/NiO/Mn-doped ZnS/nZnO/Al devices, as presented in Fig. 6(b), show that the
slope increased due to addition of electron-transport n-ZnO
layer. That is, the barrier height for carrier-injection must
have reduced upon addition of the electron-transport layer.
As such, since current flow through the devices is mostly
due to the holes, the slope of ln (J/E 2 ) versus 1/E plot
should yield barrier height for holes that remained unchanged
in the two devices. Here, with a layer of n-ZnO nanoparticles,
a balance in carrier injection must have been achieved in

BHAUMIK AND PAL: ALL-INORGANIC LEDs

ITO / Mn-doped ZnS / n-ZnO / Al

with NiO
without NiO

-17

10

NiO / Mn-doped ZnS / ZnO

(a)

-18

10

-19

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-7

1x10

-7

-7

2x10

EL Intensity (a.u.)

-16

10

J/E (A m /V )

329

2.5 V
3.0 V
3.5 V
4.0 V

-7

3x10

4x10

(a)
ITO / NiO / Mn-doped ZnS / Al
without n-ZnO
with n-ZnO

-16

10

e-

10

NiO
ITO

-3.2 eV
Mn- -4.3 eV
doped

-5.4 eV ZnS

J/F (A m /V )

(b)

e-

-1.6 eV
-17

-6.8 eV

-18

10

Al

nZnO

-7

1x10

-7

2x10

-7

3x10

A thin-film of
Mn-doped ZnS
nanoparticles

400

-7.7 eV

500

600

700

Wavelength (nm)

-19

10

PL Intensity (a.u.)

1/E (m/V)

-7

4x10

1/E (m/V)
(b)
Fig. 6. FowlerNordheim plots, that is, plots of ln (J /E 2 ) versus 1/E,
for devices (a) with and without hole-transport NiO layer and (b) with and
without electron-transport n-ZnO layer. Inset of (b) includes a band diagram
of ITO/NiO/Mn-doped ZnS/n-ZnO/Al sandwiched structure.

the ITO/NiO/Mn-doped ZnS/n-ZnO/Al devices so that current

flow due to injected electrons must have contributed substantially in device current and hence yield a lowering of
barrier height. The results obtained from the Fowler-Nordheim
plots are in agreement with the observed enhancement in EL
intensity upon addition of hole-transport and electron-transport
layers.
To verify if the EL emission has the characteristic of
Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles, we compared PL emission of the
nanostructures and EL spectrum of the LEDs (Fig. 7). We have
plotted EL spectra under different applied voltages. First of all,
the PL of the nanoparticles in thin-films has the characteristic
emission of d-states of Mn-ions. The PL spectrum and the EL
of the devices appearing around 574 nm matched well showing
that the excitons were formed in Mn-doped nanocrystals and
decayed through a radiative path. With an increase in the
amplitude of applied voltage, EL spectrum grew in intensity;
the spectral profile of EL emission remained the same implying that the excitons were always formed in the Mn-doped ZnS
nanocrystals and also decayed from the emitting nanostructure
itself. Full-width at half maximum of EL spectrum was more
as compared to that of PL spectrum; this could be due to
heating of the active layer in LEDs [32]. The advantage of
using Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles in these all-inorganic LEDs

Fig. 7. (a) EL spectra of an ITO/NiO/Mn-doped ZnS/n-ZnO/Al device under

different applied voltages (as specified in the legends). (b) PL emission of a
thin-film of Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles (on a quartz substrate). While the
excitation wavelength was 320 nm, a suitable cut-on filter was used to block
the second harmonic of the excitation light.

is that the EL spectrum remained independent of many factors,

such as hole- and electron-transporting materials and also on
the diameter of the emitting nanoparticles, since the PL (and
also the EL) emission appears due to a transition between
d-states of Mn-ions of the doped system.
IV. C ONCLUSION
In conclusion, we have fabricated and characterized LEDs
based on a layer of NiO, Mn-doped ZnS nanoparticles, and
n-ZnO nanoparticles in sequence that acted as holetransporting, emitting, and electron-transporting layers,
respectively. With hole- and electron-injections from the two
electrodes, excitons formed in Mn-doped ZnS nanocrystals
that decayed radiatively to yield EL emission from the
devices. The EL emission, appearing from Mn-doped
ZnS nanoparticles and resembling the PL spectrum of the
nanostructures, is due to a transition between d-states of
Mn-ions. While optimizing thickness of hole-transporting,
we have shown that a uniform layer of hole-transporting
NiO layer, reducing the barrier height for holes, results
EL output at a lower voltage. Similarly, the electrontransporting layer of n-ZnO nanoparticles reduced the
barrier for electron-injection. Barriers heights have been
evaluated from the fitting of current-voltage characteristics
by considering Fowler-Nordheim tunneling mechanism. The
LEDs thus fabricated and characterized have been termed as
all-inorganic ones based on solution processed nontoxic and
earth-abundant materials.

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IEEE JOURNAL OF QUANTUM ELECTRONICS, VOL. 49, NO. 3, MARCH 2013

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Saikat Bhaumik was born in Siliguri, India, in

1986. He received the M.Sc. degree in physics from
North Bengal University, Siliguri, in 2008.
He is currently a Senior Research Fellow with
the Indian Association of Cultivation of Science,
Kolkata, India. His current research interests include
fabrication and characterization of light-emitting
diodes based on different doped quantum dots.

Amlan J. Pal received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees

in physics from the University of Calcutta, Kolkata,
India, and Jadavpur University, Kolkata, respectively.
He is currently a Senior Professor with the Indian
Association of Cultivation of Science, Kolkata,
where he joined in 1992. His current research
interests include fabrication and characterization of
electronic and optoelectronic devices, such as lightemitting devices, photovoltaic solar cells, molecular
rectifiers, electrical bistable devices, memory elements, negative-differential resistance, etc., based on organic semiconductors,
conjugated polymers, and semiconducting quantum dots.
Dr. Pal is a fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering and the
Indian Academy of Sciences.