Exciton interactions in semiconductor nanostructures
Abstract
The electrons that hold solids together and power our computers communicate with each otherthrough strong Coulomb interactions. In nanoscale semiconductors (which are only a few tens orhundreds of atoms thick), these strong interactions lead to electronic and optical properties thatare very different than those observed in typical semiconductors that we use today. Thesedifferent properties may enable more efficient solar cells, batteries, or sensors – however, thestrong interactions make this class of materials hard to simulate on the computer. This proposalwill develop new computational tools that enable scientists to accurately simulate the propertiesof nanoscale materials. Because the problem is so challenging, the computer programs must bevery efficient and often must be ran on supercomputers. The simulation software that our groupdevelops is freely available and open-source, so that anyone in the community can use or modifyour code. In particular, we are developing techniques to simulate the interaction betweenelectrons and light. Typically, the absorption of light generates particles called “excitons,”which completely determine the electronic and optical properties of the material. However, innanoscale materials, excitons can interact with electrons, other excitons, or even the vibrations ofthe atoms. These extra interactions are responsible for “nonlinear” optical properties: theresponse of a material perturbed by light is not simply proportional to the intensity of light. Thisproposal aims to develop new simulation tools to understand exciton interactions andconcomitant nonlinear optical properties, in order to better understand the technologicalimplications of nanoscale materials.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 09, 2018
- Source ID
- FA95501810058
Entities
People
- Timothy Berkelbach
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- United States Air Force
- University of Chicago