Quantum Heterostructures provides a detailed description of the key physical and engineering principles of quantum semiconductor heterostructures. Blending important concepts from physics, materials science, and electrical engineering, it also explains clearly the behavior and operating features of modern microelectronic and optoelectronic devices. The authors begin by outlining the trends that have driven development in this field, most importantly the need for high-performance devices in computer, information, and communications technologies. They then describe the basics of quantum nanoelectronics, including various transport mechanisms. In the latter part of the book, they cover novel microelectronic devices, and optical devices based on quantum heterostructures. The book contains many homework problems and is suitable as a textbook for undergraduate and graduate courses in electrical engineering, physics, or materials science. It will also be of great interest to those involved in research or development in microelectronic or optoelectronic devices.

Da die Nachfrage nach immer schnelleren und kleineren Halbleiterbauelementen stetig wächst, sind Quanten-Dots und -Pyramiden rasant in den Mittelpunkt der Halbleiterforschung gerückt. Dieses Buch vermittelt einen umfassenden Überblick über den aktuellen Forschungsstand auf diesem Gebiet. Behandelt werden u.a. Fragen, wie Strukturen aufgebaut, wie sie charakterisiert werden und wie sie die Leistungsfähigkeit der Bauelemente bestimmen. (11/98)

"Quantum Phenomena do not occur in a Hilbert space. They occur in a laboratory". - Asher Peres Semiconductor physics is a laboratory to learn and discover the concepts of quantum mechanics and thermodynamics, condensed matter physics, and materials science, and the payoffs are almost immediate in the form of useful semiconductor devices. Debdeep Jena has had the opportunity to work on both sides of the fence - on the fundamental materials science and quantum physics of semiconductors, and in their applications in semiconductor electronic and photonic devices. In Quantum Physics of Semiconductors and Nanostructures, Jena uses this experience to make each topic as tangible and accessible as possible to students at all levels. Consider the simplest physical processes that occur in semiconductors: electron or hole transport in bands and over barriers, collision of electrons with the atoms in the crystal, or when electrons and holes annihilate each other to produce a photon. The correct explanation of these processes require a quantum mechanical treatment. Any shortcuts lead to misconceptions that can take years to dispel, and sometimes become roadblocks towards a deeper understanding and appreciation of the richness of the subject. A typical introductory course on semiconductor physics would then require prerequisites of quantum mechanics, statistical physics and thermodynamics, materials science, and electromagnetism. Rarely would a student have all this background when (s)he takes a course of this nature in most universities. Jena's work fills in these gaps and gives students the background and deeper understanding of the quantum physics of semiconductors and nanostructures.

Interest in antimonide-related heterostructures is burgeoning due to their applications as light sources, diode lasers, modulators, filters, switches, nonlinear optics, and field-defect transistors. This volume, featuring contributions from leading researchers in the field, is the first book to focus on antimonide-related topics. It offers to both the beginning student and the advanced researcher a comprehensive review of the state of the art in this exciting new area of research.

This volume contains the proceedings of the first NATO Science Forum "Highlights of the Eighties and Future Prospects in Condensed Matter Physics" (sponsored by the NATO Scientific Affairs Division), which took place in September, 1990, in the pleasant surroundings provided by the Hotel du Palais at Biarritz, France. One hundred distinguished physicists from seventeen countries, including six Nobellaureates, were invited to participate in the four and a half day meeting. Focusing on three evolving frontiers: semiconductor quantum structures, including the subject of the quantumHall effect (QHE), high temperature superconductivity (HiTc) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), the Forum provided an opportunity to evaluate, in depth, each of the frontiers, by reviewing the progress made during the last few years and, more importantly, exploring their implications for the future. Though serious scientists are not "prophets," all of the participants showed a strong interest in this unique format and addressed the questions of future prospects, either by extrapolating from what has been known, or by a stretch of their "educated" imagination.

This volume contains important and active results in the fields of Superlattices and Quantum Wells. It includes current prospects regarding scientific discoveries and future device applications. Papers are contributed by leading scientists in the world.

GaN and ZnO nanowires can by grown using a wide variety of methods from physical vapor deposition to wet chemistry for optical devices. This book starts by presenting the similarities and differences between GaN and ZnO materials, as well as the assets and current limitations of nanowires for their use in optical devices, including feasibility and perspectives. It then focuses on the nucleation and growth mechanisms of ZnO and GaN nanowires, grown by various chemical and physical methods. Finally, it describes the formation of nanowire heterostructures applied to optical devices.

This volume provides valuable summaries on many aspects of advanced semiconductor heterostructures and highlights the great variety of semiconductor heterostructures that has emerged since their original conception. As exemplified by the chapters in this book, recent progress on advanced semiconductor heterostructures spans a truly remarkable range of scientific fields with an associated diversity of applications. Some of these applications will undoubtedly revolutionize critically important facets of modern technology. At the heart of these advances is the ability to design and control the properties of semiconductor devices on the nanoscale. As an example, the intersubband lasers discussed in this book have a broad range of previously unobtainable characteristics and associated applications as a result of the nanoscale dimensional control of the underlying semiconductor heterostructures. As this book illustrates, an astounding variety of heterostructures can be fabricated with current technology; the potentially widespread use of layered quantum dots fabricated with nanoscale precision in biological applications opens up exciting advances in medicine. In addition, many more excellent examples of the remarkable impact being made through the use of semiconductor heterostructures are given. The summaries in this volume provide timely insights into what we know now about selected areas of advanced semiconductor heterostructures and also provide foundations for further developments.

Laser Diode Microsystems provides the reader with the basic knowledge and understanding required for using semiconductor laser diodes in optical microsystems and micro-optical electromechanic systems. This tutorial addresses the fundamentals of semiconductor laser operation and design, coupled with an overview of the types of laser diodes suitable for use in Microsystems, along with their distinguishing characteristics. Emphasis is placed on laser diode characterization and measurement as well as the assembly techniques and optical accessories required for incorporation of semiconductor lasers into complex microsystems. Equipped with typical results and calculation examples, this hand-on text helps readers to develop a feel for how to choose a laser diode, characterize it and incorporate it into a microsystem.

When solids are reduced to the nanometer scale, they exibit new and exciting behaviours which constitute the basis for a new generation of electronic devices. Nanotechnology for Microelectronics and Optoelectronics outlines in detail the fundamental solid-state physics concepts that explain the new properties of matter caused by this reduction of solids to the nanometer scale. Applications of these electronic properties is also explored, helping students and researchers to appreciate the current status and future potential of nanotechnology as applied to the electronics industry. - Explains the behavioural changes which occur in solids at the nanoscale, making them the basis of a new generation of electronic devices - Laid out in text-reference style: a cohesive and specialised introduction to the fundamentals of nanoelectronics and nanophotonics for students and researchers alike