Physical Models for Quantum Dots

Since the early 1990s, quantum dots have become an integral part of research in solid state physics for their fundamental properties that mimic the behavior of atoms and molecules on a larger scale. They also have a broad range of applications in engineering and medicines for their ability to tune their electronic properties to achieve specific functions. This book is a compilation of articles that span 20 years of research on comprehensive physical models developed by their authors to understand the detailed properties of these quantum objects and to tailor them for specific applications. Far from being exhaustive, this book focuses on topics of interest for solid state physicists, materials scientists, engineers, and general readers, such as quantum dots and nanocrystals for single-electron charging with applications in memory devices, quantum dots for electron-spin manipulation with applications in quantum information processing, and finally self-assembled quantum dots for applications in nanophotonics.

Jean-Pierre Leburton is a Gregory Stillman Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a Professor of Physics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Illinois, USA. He is also a professor at the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory and Coordinated Science Laboratory, UIUC. His research interests include semiconductor devices, nonlinear transport in semiconductors, electronic and optical properties of quantum well heterostructures and superlattices, physical properties of quantum wires and quantum dots, spin effects in quantum dots, simulation of nanostructures, quantum computation and quantum information processing, and DNA electronic recognition.

Part 1: Electrostatic Quantum Dots: Planar Technology 1. Self-Consistent Analysis of Single Electron Charging Effects in Quantum Dot Nanostructures 2. Disorder-Induced Resonant Tunneling in Planar Quantum Dot Nanostructures 3. Three-Dimensional Self-Consistent Simulation of Interface and Dopant Disorders in Delta-Doped Grid-Gate Quantum Dot Devices 4. Shell-Filling Effects and Coulomb Degeneracy in Planar Quantum Dot Structures 5. Shell Filling of Artificial Atoms Within the Density Functional Theory 6. Electronic Properties and Spin Polarization in Coupled Quantum Dots 7. Capacitive Energy of Quantum Dots with Hydrogenic Impurity 8. Electron-Electron Interactions Between Orbital Pairs in Quantum Dots 9. 2D Limit of Exchange-Correlation Density Energy Functional Approximation 10. Single-Electron Charging and Detection in a Laterally Coupled Quantum Dot Circuit in the Few-Electron Regime 11. Engineering the Quantum Point Contact Response to Single-Electron Charging in a Few-Electron Quantum Dot Circuit 12. Electrostatic Cross-Talk Between Quantum Dot and Quantum Point Contact Charge Read-Out in Few-Electron Quantum Dot Circuits 13. Dimensionality Effects in the Two-Electron System in Circular and Elliptic Quantum Dots 14. Single-Particle State Mixing in Two-Electron Coupled Quantum Dots 15. Exchange Interaction and Stability Diagram of Coupled Quantum Dots in Magnetic Fields 16. Coulomb Localization and Exchange Modulation in Two-Electron Coupled Quantum Dots 17. Single-Particle State Mixing and Coulomb Localization in Two-Electron Realistic Coupled Quantum Dots 18. Von Neumann-Wigner Theorem in Quantum Dot Molecules 19. Non-monotonic Variation of the Exchange Energy in Double Elliptic Quantum Dots Part 2: Electrostatic Quantum Dots: Vertical Technology 20. Modeling of the Electronic Properties of Vertical Quantum Dots by the Finite Element Method 21. Addition Energy Spectrum of a Quantum Dot Disk up to the Third Shell 22. Shell Charging and Spin Filling Sequences in Realistic Vertical Quantum Dots 23. Three-Dimensional Analysis of the Electronic Structure of Cylindrical Vertical Quantum Dots 24. Hybrid Lsd a/Diffusion Quantum Monte Carlo Method for Spin Sequences in Vertical Quantum Dots 25. Self-Consistent Simulations of a Four Gated Vertical Quantum Dot 26. Three-Dimensional Self-Consistent Simulations of Symmetric and Asymmetric Laterally Coupled Vertical Quantum Dots 27. Spin Configurations in Circular and Rectangular Quantum Dot in a Magnetic Field: Three-dimensional Self-consistent Simulations 28. Spin Charging Sequences in Three Colinear Laterally Coupled Vertical Quantum Dots 29. Many-Body Excitations in the Tunneling Current Spectra of a Few-Electron Quantum Dot 30. Coupled Quantum Dots as Two-Level Systems: A Variational Monte Carlo Approach 31. Tunable Many-Body Effects in Triple Quantum Dots Part 3: Self-Assembled Quantum Dots 32. Self-consistent Calculation of the Electronic Structure and Electron-electron Interaction in Self-assembled InAs-GaAs Quantum Dot Structures 33. Electronic Coupling in InAs/GaAs Self-assembled Stacked Double quantum dot Systems 34. Electronic Properties and Mid-Infrared Transitions in Self-Assembled Quantum Dots 35. Electronic Structure of Self-Assembled Quantum Dots: Comparison Between Density Functional Theory and Diffusion Quantum Monte Carlo 36. Electronic Properties of Inas/Gaas Self-Assembled Quantum Dots: Beyond the Effective Mass Approximation 37. Electron-Hole Alignment in Inas/Gaas Self-Assembled Quantum Dots: Effects of Chemical Composition and Dot Shape 38. Absence of Correlation Between Built-in Electric Dipole Moment and Quantum Stark Effect in Self-Assembled InAs/GaAs Quantum Dots 39. Interband Transition Distributions in the Optical Spectra of InAs/GaAs Self-Assembled Quantum Dots 40. Effects of Thin GaAs Insertion Layer on InAs/(InGaAs)/InP(001) Quantum Dots Grown by Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition 41. Enhanced Intraband Transitions with Strong Electric Field Asymmetry in Stacked Inas/Gaas Self-Assembled Quantum Dots 42. Enhanced Intraband Stark Effects in Stacked Inas/Gaas Self-Assembled Quantum Dots 43. Anomalous Quantum-Confined Stark Effects in Stacked InAs/GaAs Self-Assembled Quantum Dots 44. Spontaneous Localization in InAs/GaAs Self-Assembled Quantum Dot Molecules 45. Enhanced Piezoelectric Effects in Three-Dimensionally Coupled Self-Assembled Quantum Dot Structures 46. A nisotropic Enhancement of Piezoelectricity in the Optical Properties of Laterally Coupled Inas/Gaas Self-Assembled Quantum Dots Part 4: Silicon/Germanium Nanocrystals 47. Three-Dimensional Self-Consistent Simulation of Silicon Quantum Dot Floating-Gate Flash Memory Device 48. Stark Effect and Single-Electron Charging in Silicon Nanocrystal Quantum Dots 49. Strain Effect in Large Silicon Nanocrystal Quantum Dots 50. Geometry and Strain Effects on Single-Electron Charging in Silicon Nanocrystals 51. Three-Dimensional Self-Consistent Simulation of the Charging Time Response in Silicon Nanocrystal Flash Memories 52. Effects of Crystallographic Orientations on the Charging Time in Silicon Nanocrystal Flash Memories 53. Intraband Absorption and Stark Effect in Silicon Nanocrystals 54. Intraband Absorption in Silicon Nanocrystals: The Combined Effect of Shape and Crystal Orientation 55. Hole- Versus Electron-Based Operations in SiGe Nanocrystal Nonvolatile Memories 56. Light-Induced Programming of Si Nanocrystal Flash Memories 57. Interface Defect-Assisted Single Electron Charging (and Discharging) Dynamics in Ge Nanocrystals Memories