Seminar of the Institute of Theoretical Physics of University of Wrocław

Culomb interactions in quantum dots

prof. dr hab. Paweł Machnikowski

PWr

After a brief introduction into the most essential physical properties of self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) I will discuss how Coulomb interactions between carriers confined in QDs can be described and classified on the mesoscopic level.

Starting from the envelope function approximation, which is the most commonly used theoretical method for the description of carrier states in this kind of semiconductor nanostructures, I will describe the general framework of mesoscopic expansion, which is a natural tool for the theoretical analysis of Coulomb couplings.

Within this framework, I will discuss recent results concerning the manifestation of Coulomb effects in differential transmission spectra, the Förster transfer of excitation between the QDs, Coulomb-induced transitions between states with different numbers of electrons and holes (Auger relaxation and impact ionization), and two-particle resonances in coupled quantum dots.