Colloidal quantum dots are drawing attention as next-generation optical gain media for their solution processability and outstanding wavelength tunability, but localized internal heating caused by Auger recombination and high-energy carrier relaxation during laser operation can cause irreversible damage to both the materials and devices. This research seeks to control this energy loss at the material level.
 

Professor Donghyo Hahm aims to develop high-stability colloidal quantum dot laser materials that suppress heating at its source by controlling exciton dynamics within the quantum dots. Through the cooperative design of two exciton states with different oscillator strengths, the research seeks to reduce heat generation itself and, ultimately, establish a heat-recovery cycle in which lattice heat absorbed by a storage state is converted back into photons together with gain emission.
 

This research introduces both a novel design paradigm for light-emitting materials, treating heat not as waste to be dissipated but as a resource to be recovered, and a novel approach to controlling exciton dynamics to realize this concept. It is expected to generate significant academic synergy and potentially establish broadly applicable principles for thermal management across light-emitting materials.