Quantum Dot (Quantum Confinement)

Nanotechnology

How It Works

A quantum dot is a semiconductor nanocrystal whose physical dimensions are smaller than the exciton Bohr radius, confining electrons and holes in all three spatial dimensions. This 3D quantum confinement collapses continuous energy bands into discrete, atomic-like energy levels. Consequently, the effective bandgap energy and resulting photoluminescent emission color are precisely tunable simply by adjusting nanoparticle radius.

Governing Equation
E_{gap}(R) = E_{bulk} + (ħ^2 π^2) / (2 · m_{red} · R^2) - (1.786 · e^2) / (4π ε · R)