Invited Paper NM+MS+NS+NC-ThA3
Designing Semiconductor Nanocrystals for Optoelectronic and Biological Applications

Thursday, October 23, 2008, 2:40 pm, Room 309

Semiconductor nanocrystals, aka quantum dots, have become the prototypical material for the emergence of new properties when dimensions are reduced to the nanometer range. The size dependent properties of excitons and multiexcitons in quantum dots, coupled with a material that can be engineered and processed from solution, has led to potential applications in fields that include emissive displays, solar energy conversion, and biological and biomedical fluorescence imaging. A fundamental understanding of exciton processes is critical for any of these applications to become realized. The design and synthesis of well characterized materials is obviously key, not only of the functional inorganic particle itself, but also the ligand shell that protects it and couples it chemically to molecules and matrices of interest. This talk will review some of the chemistry and photophysics of quantum dots and then explore the fundamental properties and challenges behind broadly applying quantum dots as light emitters and light absorbers in devices and for biological imaging.