Quantum Dots: What Are Quantum Dots, Their Uses And Functionalities
Nanoparticles are materials measured by a nano scale. These are used in nanotechnology by researchers to discover the uses of these elements in the nanoscale form. Quantum dots, with diameters ranging from 2 – 10 nanometers i.e. 10 – 50 atoms, are nanoparticles. This means that diameters of quantum dots are 1/1000th the width of the human hair. These tiny particles or nanostructures are semiconductor materials and exhibit quantum mechanical properties.
Alexey Ekimov first discovered quantum dots, named as such by Mark Reed, in a glass matrix in 1981. Later in 1985 Louis E Brus discovered these dots in colloidal solutions. The quantized energy levels of the dots relate them more to atoms than to molecules and hence, they are also known as “artificial atoms.”
Their unique electronic properties, ranging between the properties of...