A spectroscopy platform to probe materials at the nanometer and picosecond scale.

A cathodoluminescence tool has been supplied and installed by Attolight at C2N at the end of 2015. It has been upgraded in 2019 to include a streak camera.

Its very versatile configuration offers many possibilities based on steady-state excitation (simultaneous mapping of cathodoluminescence, EBIC and SEM) and pulsed excitation (time-resolved cathodoluminescence).

Imaging modes:

  • continuous cathodoluminescence (CL)
  • time-resolved CL (TRCL)
  • secondary electron microscopy (SEM)
  • electron-beam-induced current (EBIC)

Facility specification:

  • spectral range: 250 nm – 1.7 µm
  • sample temperature: 10K-350K
  • temporal resolution down to 10 ps
  • spatial resolution down to 10 nm
  • quantitative analysis, no optical alignement, ultra-stable stage

Time-resolved CL is detected either with a Hamamatsu streak camera, or with a Time-Correlated Single Photon Counting (TCSPC) module equipped with a PM or an APD detector.

Our scientific program on PV materials focuses on III-V nanowires, polycristalline thin films (CdTe, CIGS), perovskites,… Recent results obtained by our team include the determination of n-type doping of single nanowires. Check this page for more details and a list of references.