Optimized Peltier cooling via an array of quantum dots with stair-like ground-state energy configuration

With the advancement in fabrication and scaling technology, the rising temperature in nano devices has attracted special attention towards thermoelectric or Peltier cooling. In this paper, I propose optimum Peltier cooling by employing an array of connected quantum dots with stair-like ground-state eigen energy configuration. The difference in ground state eigen energy between two adjacent quantum dots in the stair-like configuration is chosen to be identical with the optical phonon energy for efficient absorption of lattice heat. I show that in the proposed configuration, for a given optical phonon energy, one can optimize the cooling power by tuning the number of stages in the array of quantum dots. A further analysis demonstrates that the maximum cooling power at a given potential bias under optimal conditions does not depend strongly on the optical phonon energy or the number of stages at which the maximum cooling power is achieved, provided that the optical phonon energy is less than kT. The proposed concept can also be applied to $2?D$ or bulk resonant tunnel and superlattice structures with stair-like resonant energy configuration.     

生长方向对量子点应变与应变弛豫的影响

由于材料弹性的各向异性与表面能的各向异性, 不同的生长方向或生长面, 量子点有不同的力学性能与行为. 本文基于各向异性弹性理论的有限元方法, 以金字塔型自组织InAs/GaAs半导体量子点为研究对象, 分别在7个常见的生长方向或生长面上, 对其应变能和应变弛豫能、自由能等进行了分析计算, 得到了这些能量随生长方向的变化规律. 结果表明(211)量子点应变弛豫能最大, 而(100)量子点应变弛豫能最小. 这些结果可为可控制备量子点提供理论参考. 关键词： 量子点 生长方向 平衡形态 应变弛豫     

Hydrogenic impurity in double quantum dots

The ground state binding energy and the average interparticle distances for a hydrogenic impurity in double quantum dots with Gaussian confinement potential are studied by the variational method. The probability density of the electron is calculated, too. The dependence of the binding energy on the impurity position is investigated for GaAs quantum dots. The result shows that the binding energy has a minimum as a function of the distance between the two quantum dots when the impurity is located at the center of one quantum dot or at the center of the edge of one quantum dot. When the impurity is located at the center of the two dots, the binding energy decreases monotonically.     

硅量子点的形状及其弯曲表面效应

硅量子点的弯曲表面引起系统的对称性破缺, 致使某些表面键合在能带的带隙中形成局域电子态.计算结果表明:硅量子点的表面曲率不同形成的表面键合结合能和电子态分布明显不同. 例如, Si–O–Si桥键在曲率较大的表面键合能够在带隙中形成局域能级, 而在硅量子点曲率较小的近平台表面上键合不会形成任何局域态, 但此时的键合结合能较低. 用弯曲表面效应(CS)可以解释较小硅量子点的光致荧光光谱的红移现象. CS效应揭示了纳米物理中又一奇妙的特性. 实验证实, CS效应在带隙中形成的局域能级可以激活硅量子点发光. 关键词： 硅量子点 弯曲表面效应 表面键合 局域能级     

Quantum dots in quantum well structures

Recent progress toward fabricating and characterizing quantum dots in III–V quantum well structures is reviewed. Quantum dots made by use of lithography and etching, including deep-etched, barrier-modulated, strain-induced and interdiffused quantum dots, are described. Quantum dots fabricated by growth, including natural quantum dots, dots on patterned substrates, and self-assembled dots, are discussed. Dot sizes and uniformity, energy-level splittings, and luminescence efficiencies that are now being achieved are discussed. The status of key issues, such as the energy relaxation in quantum dots, is mentioned.     

Electronic states and shapes of silicon quantum dots

A curviform surface breaks the symmetrical shape of silicon quantum dots on which some bonds can produce localized electronic states in the bandgap. The calculation results show that the bonding energy and electronic states of silicon quantum dots are different on various curved surfaces, for example, a Si-O-Si bridge bond on curved surface provides localized levels in bandgap and its bonding energy is shallower than that on the facet. The red-shifting ofthe photoluminescence spectrum on smaller silicon quantum dots can be explained by the curved surface effect. Experiments demonstrate that silicon quantum dots are activated for emission due to the localized levels provided by the curved surface effect.     

Electronic structure model for n- and p-type silicon quantum dots

We present effective mass, single-particle calculations of the electronic structure of n- and p-type silicon quantum dots. The structures investigated approximate silicon quantum dots fabricated on 〈 001〉-oriented SIMOX wafers. The effects of possible built-in strain are investigated in the framework of deformation potential induced splitting of the six degenerate conduction band valleys and the splitting of the degeneracy at the top of the bulk valence band. We present the energy levels and their degeneracies as functions of the dimensions of simple tetragonal model quantum dots. Our results are relevant for silicon quantum dots that are sufficiently small such as to lead to a predominance of the confinement energy over the Coulomb energy.     

Energy Spectrum of Charge Carriers in Elastically Strained Assemblies of Ge/Si Quantum Dots

The results of studying the energy spectrum of electrons and holes localized in second-type Ge/Si heterostructures with Ge quantum dots are presented. In such structures, holes are localized at Ge quantum dots, and electrons, in three-dimensional quantum wells, which form in Si at the Ge—Si interface because of inhomogeneous deformations that appear as a result of the difference between the Ge and Si lattice constants. It is shown that changes in the deformations in the assembly of quantum dots as a result of a variation in their spatial arrangement significantly changes the binding energy of electrons, the position of their localization at quantum dots, the binding energy and wave-function symmetry of holes at double quantum dots (artificial molecules), and the exchange interaction of electrons and holes in the exciton composition. A practically important result of the presented data is the development of approaches to increase the luminescence quantum efficiency and the absorption coefficient in assemblies of quantum dots.     

Surface enhanced Raman scattering by CdS quantum dots

Surface enhanced Raman scattering is studied in nanostructures with CdS quantum dots formed using the Langmuir-Blodgett technology. Features due to quantum dot longitudinal optical phonons are observed in the Raman spectra of both free CdS quantum dots and such dots distributed in an organic matrix. The surface enhanced Raman scattering by nanostructures with CdS quantum dots covered by an Ag cluster film is observed experimentally. Applying Ag clusters onto the nanostructure surfaces results in a sharp (40-fold) increase in the intensity of Raman scattering by optical phonons in the quantum dots. It is shown that the dependence of surface enhanced Raman scattering on the excitation energy is resonant with a maximum at the energy corresponding to the maximum absorption coefficient of Ag clusters.     

有限元法分析不同形状量子点的应变能及弛豫度变化

利用有限元方法研究了不同形状量子点的应变能量分布和弛豫度随着高宽比变化的规律.分析了量子点间距和量子点形状对量子点应变弛豫的影响,定量地讨论了量子点的弛豫度与量子点形状之间的关系.计算结果表明,在不考虑表面能的情况下,当量子点高宽比增加时,弛豫度上升,并且发现平顶金字塔形量子点最先达到稳定;岛间距增大时,量子点内应变能下降,其中立方体形量子点应变能下降最快.研究表明,量子点的弛豫度可以成为控制量子点成岛形状的重要依据. 关键词： 量子点 弛豫度     

Quantum dots formed in InSb/AlAs and AlSb/AlAs heterostructures

The crystal structure of new self-assembled InSb/AlAs and AlSb/AlAs quantum dots grown by molecularbeam epitaxy has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy. The theoretical calculations of the energy spectrum of the quantum dots have been supplemented by the experimental data on the steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. Deposition of 1.5 ML of InSb or AlSb on the AlAs surface carried out in the regime of atomic-layer epitaxy leads to the formation of pseudomorphically strained quantum dots composed of InAlSbAs and AlSbAs alloys, respectively. The quantum dots can have the type-I and type-II energy spectra depending on the composition of the alloy. The ground hole state in the quantum dot belongs to the heavy-hole band and the localization energy of holes is much higher than that of electrons. The ground electron state in the type-I quantum dots belongs to the indirect X_XY valley of the conduction band of the alloy. The ground electron state in the type-II quantum dots belongs to the indirect X valley of the conduction band of the AlAs matrix.     

ZnS∶Cu-罗丹明B的荧光共振能量转移性质

为了解决现有的基于量子点荧光共振能量转移体系的生物毒性问题,选用无毒的ZnS∶Cu量子点与罗丹明B构建新型荧光共振能量转移体系。通过共沉淀法成功制备了形貌均一的ZnS∶Cu纳米晶量子点。在此基础上,测试了不同掺杂浓度的ZnS∶Cu量子点及罗丹明B的荧光光谱。然后,通过对ZnS∶Cu量子点的表面修饰构建了以ZnS∶Cu量子点为供体、罗丹明B为受体的荧光共振能量转移体系。实验结果表明:ZnS∶2%Cu量子点的发光光谱与罗丹明B的吸收光谱在481 nm处有较大重合,说明构建荧光共振能量转移的最佳铜掺杂摩尔分数为2%。通过计算发现以ZnS∶2%Cu量子点为供体、罗丹明B为受体的荧光共振能量转移体系的能量转移效率为25.8%。进一步实验结果表明,罗丹明B浓度也能够影响能量转移。     

Antiresonance Effect in Electronic Tunnelling through a One-Dimensional Quantum Dot Chain

Electronic tunnelling through a one-dimensional quantum dot chain is theoretically studied, when two leads couple to the individual component quantum dots of the chain arbitrarily. If there are some dangling quantum dots in the chain outside the leads, the electron tunnelling through the quantum dot chain is wholly forbidden while the energy of the incident electron is just equal to the molecular energy levels of the dangling quantum dots, which is known as the antiresonance effect. In addition, the influence of electron interaction on the antiresonance effect is discussed within the Hartree-Fock approximation.     

Resonant photocurrent-spectroscopy of individual CdSe quantum dots

Here we report on investigations on CdSe quantum dots incorporated in ZnSe based Schottky photodiodes with near-field shadow masks. Photoluminescence and photocurrent of individual quantum dots were studied as a function of the applied bias voltage. The exciton energy of the quantum dot ground state transition was shifted to the excitation energy by using the Stark effect tuning via an external bias voltage. Under the condition of resonance with the laser excitation energy we observed a resonant photocurrent signal due to the tunnelling of carriers out of the quantum dots at electric fields above 500 kV/cm.     

Exchange and spin states in quantum dots under strong spatial correlations. Computer simulation by the Feynman path integral method

The fundamental laws in the behavior of electrons in model quantum dots that are caused by exchange and strong Coulomb correlations are studied. The ab initio path integral method is used to numerically simulate systems of two, three, four, and six interacting identical electrons confined in a three-dimensional spherical potential well with a parabolic confining potential against the background of thermal fluctuations. The temperature dependences of spin and collective spin magnetic susceptibility are calculated for model quantum dots of various spatial sizes. A basically exact procedure is proposed for taking into account the permutation symmetry and the spin state of electrons, which makes it possible to perform numerical calculations using modern computer facilities. The conditions of applicability of a virial energy estimator and its optimum form in exchange systems are determined. A correlation estimator of kinetic energy, which is an alternative to a basic estimator, is suggested. A fundamental relation between the kinetic energy of a quantum particle and the character of its virtual diffusion in imaginary time is demonstrated. The process of natural “pairing” of electron spins during the compression of a quantum dot and cooling of a system is numerically reproduced in terms of path integrals. The temperature dependences of the spin magnetic susceptibility of electron pairs with a characteristic maximum caused by spin pairing are obtained.     

Electronic structures of stacked layers quantum dots: influence of the non-perfect alignment and the applied electric field

Electronic structures of the artificial molecule comprising two truncated pyramidal quantum dots vertically coupled and embedded in the matrix are theoretically analysed via the finite element method.When the quantum dots are completely aligned,the electron energy levels decrease with the horizontally applied electric field.However,energy levels may have the maxima at non-zero electric field if the dots are staggered by a distance of several nanometers in the same direction of the electric field.In addition to shifting the energy levels,the electric field can also manipulate the electron wavefunctions confined in the quantum dots,in company with the non-perfect alignment.     

磁场对非对称量子点中束缚磁极化子性质的影响

采用线性组合算符和幺正变换方法研究磁场对非对称量子点中弱耦合束缚磁极化子性质的影响。导出量子点中弱耦合束缚磁极化子振动频率和基态能量随量子点的横向和纵向有效受限长度、库仑束缚势、磁场的回旋共振频率和电子-声子耦合强度的变化关系。数值计算结果表明:非对称量子点中弱耦合束缚磁极化子的振动频率和基态能量随量子点的横向和纵向有效受限长度的减小而迅速增大。振动频率随库仑束缚势和磁场的回旋共振频率的增加而增大。基态能量随库仑束缚势和电子-声子耦合强度的增加而减小。     

边界对石墨烯量子点非线性光学性质的影响

石墨烯作为一种新型非线性光学材料,在光子学领域具有重要的应用前景,引起研究人员的极大兴趣.本文运用量子化学计算方法研究了边界引入碳碳双键(C=C)和掺杂环硼氮烷(B₃N₃)环对石墨烯量子点非线性光学性质和紫外-可见吸收光谱的影响.研究发现,扶手椅边界上引入C=C双键后,六角形石墨烯量子点分子结构对称性降低,电荷分布对称性发生破缺,导致分子二阶非线性光学活性增强.石墨烯量子点在从扶手椅型边界向锯齿型边界过渡的过程中,随着边界C=C双键数目的增加,六角形石墨烯量子点和B3N3掺杂六角形石墨烯量子点的极化率和第二超极化率分别呈线性增加.此外,边界对石墨烯量子点的吸收光谱也有重要影响.无论是石墨烯量子点还是B₃N₃掺杂石墨烯量子点,扶手椅型边界上引入C=C双键导致最高占据分子轨道能级升高,最低未占分子轨道能级的降低,前线分子轨道能级差减小,因而最大吸收波长发生了红移.中心掺杂B₃N₃环后会增大石墨烯量子点的分子前线轨道能级差,导致B3N3掺杂后的石墨烯量子点紫外-可见吸收光谱发生蓝移.本文研究为边界修饰调控石墨烯量子点非线性光学响应提供了一定的理论指导.     

耦合量子点的三阶非线性光学特性

本文研究了两个耦合的圆型量子点的三阶光学非线性,并且利用密度矩阵算符理论导出了三次谐波产生的表达式.最后,以GaAs耦合量子点为例作了数值计算,并绘出了三次谐波产生与耦合量子点中的电子数以及光子能量之间的依赖关系.     

Resonance energy transfer in a dense array of II–VI quantum dots

Förster resonance energy transfer in inhomogeneous dense arrays of epitaxial CdSe/ZnSe quantum dots is demonstrated by time- and space-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. The specific feature of this process is the dipole–dipole interaction between the ground exciton levels of small quantum dots and the excited levels of large dots. This interaction brings efficient energy collection and spectral selection of a limited number of emitters. Results of theoretical modeling of optical transitions in spheroidal quantum dots with a Gaussian potential profile agree with the observed features of optical spectra induced by the change of the dominant energy transfer mechanism.