Professor of Physics
Quantum Dots are objects that confine electrons in all three dimensions
and may be seen as macromolecules. Due to their favourable optical
properties, they are, for example, used in biological imaging as
fluorescent markers. For these applications, Quantum Dots are usually
made from II-IV materials which often include Cadmium. Since the latter
is potentially toxic, in vivo studies now often involve biocompatible
Silicon Quantum Dots. In this project we study the absorption and
emission characteristics of these new materials using time dependent
density functional theory. We are interested in the quantum confinement
effect and study various functionalizations in order to prevent
oxidation and increase solubility.