Electron probabilities in GaAs quantum well

A quantum heterostructure is a heterostructure in a substrate (usually a semiconductor material), where size restricts the movements of the

charge carrier In physics, a charge carrier is a particle or quasiparticle that is free to move, carrying an electric charge, especially the particles that carry electric charges in electrical conductors. Examples are electrons, ions and holes. The term is u ...

s forcing them into a quantum confinement. This leads to the formation of a set of discrete energy levels at which the carriers can exist. Quantum heterostructures have sharper

density of states In solid state physics and condensed matter physics, the density of states (DOS) of a system describes the number of modes per unit frequency range. The density of states is defined as D(E) = N(E)/V , where N(E)\delta E is the number of states ...

than structures of more conventional sizes. Quantum heterostructures are important for fabrication of short-wavelength

light-emitting diode A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light ( ...

s and diode lasers, and for other optoelectronic applications, e.g. high-efficiency

photovoltaic cell A solar cell, or photovoltaic cell, is an electronic device that converts the energy of light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect, which is a physical and chemical phenomenon.

s. Examples of quantum heterostructures confining the carriers in quasi-two, -one and -zero dimensions are: *

Quantum well A quantum well is a potential well with only discrete energy values. The classic model used to demonstrate a quantum well is to confine particles, which were initially free to move in three dimensions, to two dimensions, by forcing them to occup ...

s * Quantum wires *

Quantum dot Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor particles a few nanometres in size, having optical and electronic properties that differ from those of larger particles as a result of quantum mechanics. They are a central topic in nanotechnology. When the q ...

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See also