Fabrication of CdSe–ZnS nanocrystal-based local fluorescent aperture probes by active polymerization of photosensitive epoxy

We report the fabrication of a nanocrystal (NC) doped polymer tip at the end of a single-mode optical fiber with active polymerization technique. The tip is created by immersing the fiber in a photosensitive epoxy precursor containing colloidal CdSe–ZnS NCs and polymerizing the epoxy using laser light introduced through the fiber. The laser power was found to have a strong influence on the tip height and shape. As the laser beam progressed from the fiber end, the power was reduced by conversion and absorption, resulting in a cone-shaped tip. The shape of the extreme end of the tip was sensitive to the transmitted beam pattern, indicating that the shape of the tip is independent of the substrate fiber. A blue shift and reduction in decay time suggest that the emission properties of the NCs are affected by immobilization in the epoxy, possibly because of oxidation at the NC surface.