This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Semiconductor Quantum Wires and the Influence of Geometric Dimensionality on Quantum Confinement: Quantum-confinement effects are the dramatic changes in electronic and optical properties occurring in small semiconductor crystallites as a result of the geometric confinement of electrons and holes. When an electron-hole pair in an excited nanocrystal is squeezed into a dimension approaching the bulk exciton Bohr radius (~2-60 nm), the effective band gap of the semiconductor increases with decreas innanocrystal size. Thus, the magnitude of quantum confinement depends upon nanocrystal size and composition. But how about the nanocrystal shape? One may reasonably wonder which nanocrystal shape- the quantum well (layer), quantum wire, quantum rod (short wire), orquantum dot - should exhibit the inherently stronger quantum-confinement effects.The answer is known theoretically: 3D confinement is stronger than 2D confinement, which in turn is stronger than 1D confinement. Thus, the magnitude of quantum confinement should increase in the order wells
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