Light quenching and dark states in colloidal solutions of semiconductor CdSe/ZnS quantum dots

The photodynamics of optical limiting in colloidal solutions of different-size CdSe/ZnS quantum dots is studied. The behavior of the dependences points to a multistage process that includes the bleaching and optical limiting stages. The limiting photodynamics is compared with luminescence dynamics of quantum dots under conditions of high-power excitation. It is shown that the optical limiting efficiency in such media is determined by the position of exciting radiation with respect to the main exciton absorption band of the quantum dot. The roles played by so-called dark states and light quenching in limiting photodynamics are discussed.