Nonradiative processes involving rare-earth impurities in nanostructures

Doping nanostructures with rare earth (RE) impurities offers a new way of engineering light emitting devices (LED). However, the proximity of interfaces opens new channels of nonradiative processes detrimental for the operation of LEDs. Here we discuss the influence of host band-structure on nonradiative processes at surfaces, as well as the RE autoionization across the interface. The effect of a spatial confinement on the radiative processes is also discussed.