OPTICAL PROPERTIES OF

SEMICONDUCTOR QUANTUM DOTS

Presented by: KIA KHUR FAISAL
(160751)
Overview

OPTICAL
INTRODUCTION QUANTUM DOTS
PROPERTIES

QUANTUM
3
HOW TO MAKE
CONFINMENT QUANTUM DOTS 5 APPLICATIONS

1
2 4 6
INTRODUCTION

Quantum dots (QD) are

nanoparticles/structures that
exhibit 3-dimensional
quantum confinement,
which leads to many unique
optical and transport
properties

GaAs Quantum dot

containing just 465 atoms
QUANTUM CONFINEMENT

Definition
Quantum Confinement is the spatial confinement of
electron-hole pairs (excitons) in one or more
dimensions within a material.
-1D confinement: Quantum Wells
-2D confinement: Quantum Wire
-3D confinement: Quantum Dot
Quantum confinement is more prominent in
semiconductors because they have an energy gap in
their electronic band structure.
Quantum confinement is only observed at dimensions
below 2 nm
What are Quantum Dots?

Quantum Dots are semiconductors whose

excitons are confined in all three dimensional
of space
There diameter typically ranges
from: 2 – 10 nm
They have potential applications
in electronic and optoelectronic
devices.
How to make Quantum Dots?
There are three main ways to confine excitons in semiconductor:

Lithography

2
Colloidal synthesis

3
Epitaxial growth
LITHOGRAPHY:
PHOTOLITHOGRAPHY
Step 1
It is coated with photosensitive “resist” material which is
then exposed to light

Step 2
Wash away the part of resist that was not
exposed to light

Step 3
Wafer is etched with a chemical
Disadvantage: Small size is hard to achieve with even high
i.e. hydrofluoric acid
frequency ultraviolet light.
Cont’d…
IMPRINT LITHOGRAPHY

A nanoscale mold is pressed into a

semiconductor to create very small
features
COLLOIDAL SYNTHESIS::
General Process
Step 1
Saturated sol is produced in an
organic solvent.

Step 2
Temperature or pH is changed to
produce supersaturated sol.

Step 3
By changing temperature and
pH size of quantum dot is
tuned
Cont’d…
Example
EPITAXIAL GROWTH

SELF ORAGANIZED GROWTH

It refers to Layer by layer deposition/growth of
monocrystalline films .
PATTERN GROWTH
Semiconducting compound with smaller bandgap (GaAs) are
grown on the surface compound with larger bandgap
(AlGaAs).
Quantum Dot Optical Properties

The optical properties of quantum dots are known to vary

between different types and can be predicted by certain
factors.
•Effect of Size
•Effect of Shape
•Effect of Structure
EFFECT OF SIZE
 STOKES SHIFT

•The red shift of the emission spectra with

respect to absorption spectra is known as
Stokes shift, which is commonly observed in
semiconductor quantum dots
•As the radius increases the redshift decreases
and disappears beyond a certain radius.
EFFECT OF SHAPE

Shape of quantum dots may play a role in the

band level energy of the dots and, as a result,
affect the frequency of fluorescent light
emitted or absorbed.
EFFECT OF STRUCTURE

The crystal lattice of the quantum dot semiconductor has an effect of the electronic wave function.
As a result, a quantum dot has a specific energy spectrum equal to the band gap and a specific
density of electronic state on the outside of the crystal.
Quantum dots can also be synthesized with a protective shell to lengthen its lifespan and increase
frequency of fluorescent emission.
EXAMPLE: A quantum dot composed of cadmium selenide may have a thicker protective shell
made of cadmium sulfide
APPLICATIONS

Photovoltaic Biology : Light emitting Quantum Photodetectors

devise: solar cells biosensors, diodes: LEDs computation and Lasers
imaging
CONCLUSION

•Fabrication of quantum dots

•Different factors

•Applications
THANKYOU