Tip-enhanced Rayleigh scattering and photoluminescence from semiconductor nanoparticles

Tip-enhanced Rayleigh scattering images of Ge quantum dots grown on a Si substrate have been observed at room temperature. Changing the wavelength of the incidence light from 405 to 590 nm, the contrast of the images is reversed. It is found that the scattering intensity depends on the dielectric constants of the materials under the probe. By changing the wavelength of the incident light, we have obtained information about the dielectric constant dispersion of single Ge quantum dots. The spectral peak position of single Ge quantum dots is found to shift to higher energy, compared to that of bulk Ge. Tip-enhanced photoluminescence from an In0.25Ga0.75N film at room temperature has also been reported. The strong local enhancement of the photoluminescence of the localized excitons has been observed in the vicinity of a gold nano-particle attached to the end of the probe. A coupling to plasmons in the gold nano-particle yields strong enhancement of the photoluminescence.