Characteristics of the carrier ground state of small semiconductor particles

Abstract

The author investigates characteristics of the carrier ground state of small semiconductor particles by calculating the carrier density distribution and the effective one-particle potential self-consistently. He takes account of the quantum mechanical boundary condition of semiconductor surfaces and the polarization of the dielectric background which accommodates carriers. In the case of n(p)-doping, the above boundary condition leads to a carrier-deficient surface layer with positive (negative) charges, and the inner surplus carriers operate to screen the positive (negative) charges in this surface layer, to build up the prominent peak in the carrier density profile. The effective potential bending downwards in the radial direction acts to lower the energy levels of carriers of larger angular momenta l.