"Quantum dot" nanocrystals
One of the topics of study in our lab is small clusters of atoms, perhaps 100 atoms wide. These clusters are nicknamed "quantum dots," and are useful for controlling the ways that light and matter interact with each other.
Is quantum mechanics involved in studying solid materials?
Definitely. Our understanding of band theory in solids comes directly from considering the wave-nature of electrons when confined in a periodic arrangement of atoms. Additionally, when we confine electrons to small distances such as a few nanometers, we can observe an effect called quantum confinement. It works like this: as the wave of an electron is confined to smaller distance scales, it “vibrates” at higher frequencies. This confinement effect can be visualized by a guitar string – making the string shorter means that the string vibrates at higher frequencies. In the case of confining electrons, this higher frequency shows up as a difference in the characteristic color. Students in our lab synthesized CdSe quantum dots – even though they are all the same chemical composition, they appear different colors because of the different relative sizes of the quantum dots.
One of the topics of study in our lab is small clusters of atoms, perhaps 100 atoms wide. These clusters are nicknamed "quantum dots," and are useful for controlling the ways that light and matter interact with each other.
Is quantum mechanics involved in studying solid materials?
Definitely. Our understanding of band theory in solids comes directly from considering the wave-nature of electrons when confined in a periodic arrangement of atoms. Additionally, when we confine electrons to small distances such as a few nanometers, we can observe an effect called quantum confinement. It works like this: as the wave of an electron is confined to smaller distance scales, it “vibrates” at higher frequencies. This confinement effect can be visualized by a guitar string – making the string shorter means that the string vibrates at higher frequencies. In the case of confining electrons, this higher frequency shows up as a difference in the characteristic color. Students in our lab synthesized CdSe quantum dots – even though they are all the same chemical composition, they appear different colors because of the different relative sizes of the quantum dots.