White light-emitting diodes based on ultrasmall CdSe nanocrystal electroluminescence

We report white light-emitting diodes fabricated with ultrasmall CdSe nanocrystals, which demonstrate electroluminescence from a size of nanocrystals (<2 nm) previously thought to be unattainable. These LEDs have excellent color characteristics, defined by their pure white CIE color coordinates (0.333, 0.333), correlated color temperatures of 5461-6007 K, and color rendering indexes as high as 96.6. The effect of high voltage on the trap states responsible for the white emission is also described.