Quantum dots (QDs) are man-made nanoscale crystals that exhibit unique optical and electronic properties, including the ability to transport electrons and emit light of various colors when exposed to UV light.
Key points
- These artificially synthesized semiconductor nanoparticles have a wide range of potential applications, including use in composites, solar cells, fluorescent biological labeling, displays, lighting, and medical imaging.
- Being zero dimensional, quantum dots have a sharper density of states than higher-dimensional structures.
- Their small size also means that electrons do not have to travel as far as with larger particles, thus electronic devices can operate faster.
- Examples of applications taking advantage of these unique electronic properties include transistors, solar cells, ultrafast all-optical switches and logic gates, and quantum computing, among many others.
- The small size of dots allow them to go anywhere in the body making them suitable for different bio-medical applications like medical imaging, biosensors, etc.
