  Photothermal heterodyne detection is used to record the first
room-temperature absorption spectra of single CdSe/ZnS semiconductor
nanocrystals. These spectra are recorded in the high cw excitation regime, and
the observed bands are assigned to transitions involving biexciton and trion
states. Comparison with the single nanocrystals photoluminescence spectra leads
to the measurement of spectral Stokes shifts free from ensemble averaging.
