This book reviews recent advances in the field of semiconductor quantum dots via contributions from prominent researchers in the scientific community. Special focus is given to optical, quantum optical, and spin properties of single quantum dots.

Semiconductor Quantum Dots presents an overview of the background and recent developments in the rapidly growing field of ultrasmall semiconductor microcrystallites, in which the carrier confinement is sufficiently strong to allow only quantized states of the electrons and holes. The main emphasis of this book is the theoretical analysis of the confinement induced modifications of the optical and electronic properties of quantum dots in comparison with extended materials. The book develops the theoretical background material for the analysis of carrier quantum-confinement effects, introduces the different confinement regimes for relative or center-of-mass motion quantization of the electron-hole-pairs, and gives an overview of the best approximation schemes for each regime. A detailed discussion of the carrier states in quantum dots is presented and surface polarization instabilities are analyzed, leading to the self-trapping of carriers near the surface of the dots. The influence of spin-orbit coupling on the quantum-confined carrier states is discussed. The linear and nonlinear optical properties of small and large quantum dots are studied in detail and the influence of the quantum-dot size distribution in many realistic samples is outlined. Phonons in quantum dots as well as the influence of external electric or magnetic fields are also discussed. Last but not least the recent developments dealing with regular systems of quantum dots are also reviewed. All things included, this is an important piece of work on semiconductor quantum dots not to be dismissed by serious researchers and physicists.

Special focus is given to the optical and electronic properties of single quantum dots due to their potential applications in devices operating with single electrons and/or single photons. This includes quantum dots in electric and magnetic fields, cavity-quantum electrodynamics, nonclassical light generation, and coherent optical control of excitons.

Semiconductor quantum dots represent one of the fields of solid state physics that have experienced the greatest progress in the last decade. Recent years have witnessed the discovery of many striking new aspects of the optical response and electronic transport phenomena. This book surveys this progress in the physics, optical spectroscopy and application-oriented research of semiconductor quantum dots. It focuses especially on excitons, multi-excitons, their dynamical relaxation behaviour and their interactions with the surroundings of a semiconductor quantum dot. Recent developments in fabrication techniques are reviewed and potential applications discussed. This book will serve not only as an introductory textbook for graduate students but also as a concise guide for active researchers.

This book presents an overview of the current understanding of the physics of zero-dimensional semiconductors. It concentrates mainly on quantum dots of wide-gap semiconductors, but touches also on zero-dimensional systems based on silicon and III-V materials. After providing the reader with a theoretical background, the author illustrates the specific properties of three-dimensionally confined semiconductors, such as the size dependence of energy states, optical transitions, and dephasing mechanisms with the results from numerous experiments in linear and nonlinear spectroscopy. Technological concepts of the growth concepts and the potential of this new class of semiconductor materials for electro-optic and nonlinear optical devices are also discussed.

This is the first book to specifically focus on semiconductor nanocrystals, and address their synthesis and assembly, optical properties and spectroscopy, and potential areas of nanocrystal-based devices. The enormous potential of nanoscience to impact on industrial output is now clear. Over the next two decades, much of the science will transfer into new products and processes. One emerging area where this challenge will be very successfully met is the field of semiconductor nanocrystals. Also known as colloidal quantum dots, their unique properties have attracted much attention in the last twenty years.

Captures the most up-to-date research in the field, written in an accessible style by the world's leading experts.

This is an overview of different models and mechanisms developed to describe the capture and relaxation of carriers in quantum-dot systems. Despite their undisputed importance, the mechanisms leading to population and energy exchanges between a quantum dot and its environment are not yet fully understood. The authors develop a first-order approach to such effects, using elementary quantum mechanics and an introduction to the physics of semiconductors. The book results from a series of lectures given by the authors at the Master’s level.

Semiconductor structures containing zero-dimensional objects — quantum dots — are the subject of intensive research worldwide. This monograph describes a detailed theory of the electronic band structure and optical properties of semiconductor quantum dots.The author provides a comprehensive description of an original approach based on a combination of the Fourier transform, the Green's function and plane-wave expansion techniques in the framework of multiband 8x8 kp theory. The calculated band structure, optical properties and device applications are analyzed in line with available experiments for a large number of realistic quantum dot structures and various combinations of materials, such as InGaN, GaN/AlN, ZnSe, InGaAs (including dots-in-the-well), ZnSe/CdSe, and lead salts.

Cancer is fast becoming one of the main causes of death worldwide. Unfortunately many cases are diagnosed at an advanced incurable stage, and these lives are usually lost. Early diagnosis and treatment are very important for increasing disease curability. In recent years, novel techniques for cancer diagnosis and therapy have been developed, and nanobiomedicine appears to show the most promising results.The application of nanotechnology to biology and medicine in cancer diagnosis is termed nanobiomedicine. Nanoparticles 1-100 nm in size usually have unique physical and/or chemical properties, and this has attracted great attention in the cancer research. Preparation and biomedical applications of the nanoparticles are key components in nanobiomedicine. Semiconductor nanocrystals, including quantum dots (QDs) and quantum rods (QRs), have been extensively investigated for drug delivery, biomedical imaging and tumor target therapy.In Semiconductor Quantum Dots and Rods for In Vivo Imaging and Cancer Phototherapy, the QD and QR optical properties, sentinel lymph node mapping, in vivo tumor target imaging, self-illuminating QDs for in vivo imaging, in vivo cancer photothermal therapy and photodynamic therapy, QD-graphene nanosheet, and QD-magnetic hybrid nanocomposites for bioimaging and cancer therapy are discussed. This book may interest under- and postgraduate students in the field of bioengineering (especially cancer phototherapy) and medical professions alike.