Electroluminescence from nanocrystals in an electromigrated gap composed of two different metals

We present a technique for making nanoscale gaps with work function offsets based on electromigrating leads composed of two different metals. Electroluminescence spectra from plain metal gaps with and without CdSe/ZnS (core/shell) nanocrystals are qualitatively very similar and exhibit features that are much broader than the photoluminescence spectra obtained from the same nanocrystals. These observations can be explained by inelastic scattering of conduction electrons in the metal leads or by electroluminescence from small metallic clusters that can form during the fabrication process. However, electroluminescence that spectrally coincides with nanocrystal photoluminescence can be observed in devices containing nanocrystals formed by electromigrating Pt leads bridged with small indium islands. This suggests that electromigrating leads made of different metals is a promising route to fabricating nanoscale gaps with work function offsets for optoelectronic devices.