Laser cooling with PbSe colloidal quantum dots

We present a theoretical scheme for laser cooling with colloidal lead-salt PbSe quantum dots (QDs) doped in a glass host. The laser cooling process is based on the anti-Stokes fluorescence in QDs. The relatively short (microsecond range) lifetime of the excited level of the PbSe QD allows the cooling process to be accelerated and new materials with higher phonon energy to be used as hosts, which are normally considered unsuitable for cooling with rare-earth ions. The considerable increase (by similar to 10(4)) in the absorption cross section of the PbSe QD in comparison with the absorption cross section of rare-earth ions doped in glasses or crystals increases the efficiency of the cooling process considerably, lowering the pump power requirements. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America