More stable light comes from intentionally 'squashed' quantum dots

Intentionally "squashing" colloidal quantum dots during chemical synthesis creates dots capable of stable, "blink-free" light emission that is fully comparable with the light produced by dots made with more complex processes. The squashed dots emit spectrally narrow light with a highly stable intensity and a non-fluctuating emission energy. New research at Los Alamos National Laboratory suggests that the strained colloidal quantum dots represent a viable alternative to presently employed nanoscale light sources, and they deserve exploration as single-particle, nanoscale light sources for optical "quantum" circuits, ultrasensitive sensors, and medical diagnostics.