Spectroscopy of systems with spatially confined structures proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, held in Erice, Sicily, Italy, 15-30 June 2001

Nanometer scale physics is progressing rapidly: the top-down approach of semiconductor technology will soon encounter the scale of the bottom-up approaches of supramolecular chemistry and spatially localized excitations in ionic crystals. Advances in this area have already led to applications in optoelectronics. More may be expected. This book deals with the role of structure confinement in the spectroscopic characteristics of physical systems. It examines the fabrication, measurement and understanding of the relevant structures. It reports progress in the theory and in experimental techniques, starting with the consideration of fundamental principles and leading to the frontiers of research. The subjects dealt with include such spatially resolved structures as quantum wells, quantum wires, quantum dots, and luminescence, in both theoretical and practical terms. Front Matter....Pages n1-xl The Role of Structure Confinement in the Energy Level Schemes of Physical Systems....Pages 1-90 Photonic Structures: Atoms, Molecules, Wires, and Crystals....Pages 91-118 Optical Near-Field Spectroscopy....Pages 119-164 Future of Laser Technology for Spectroscopy....Pages 165-211 Propagation and Characterization of Ultrashort Laser Pulses....Pages 213-242 Self-Ordered Growth and Spectroscopy of Nonplanar Quantum Wires and Quantum Dots....Pages 243-259 Theory of Optical Properties of Quantum Wells, Wires and Dots....Pages 261-322 Spatio-Temporal Bloch Oscillations in GaAs/AlgaAs Superlattices....Pages 323-356 Optical Anisotropy in Low-Dimensional Semiconductor Structures....Pages 357-390 Luminescence Properties of Very Small Semi-Conductor Particles....Pages 391-418 Percolation and Localization in Disordered Solid Solutions....Pages 419-464 Spontaneous Emission Within A Photonic Atom: Radiative Decay Rates and Spectroscopy of Levitated Microspheres....Pages 465-489 Quantum Thermodynamics of A Single-Mode Field and of the Quantum Afterburner....Pages 491-497 Quantum Afterburner: Improving the Efficiency of an Ideal Heat Engine....Pages 498-501 Fiber Lasers....Pages 503-514 Structures and Models of Glasses....Pages 515-558 Free Electron Laser: Operating Principles....Pages 559-592 Entanglement and Non-Separability in Quantum Mechanics....Pages 593-606 Digging for the Skull of the Cyclops....Pages 607-615 Confined Structures Based on Point Defects in Lithium Fluoride Films: Optical Properties and Applications....Pages 617-632 Self-Organized Semiconductor Quantum Islands in A Semiconducting Matrix....Pages 633-651 NASA DIAL/LIDAR Laser Technology Development Program....Pages 653-664 Synthesis, simulation & spectroscopy: physical chemistry of nanocrystals....Pages 665-696 Optical Microcavities Based on Color Centers in LiF Films: New Solid State Miniaturized Light Sources....Pages 697-703 Optical properties of II–VI semiconductor nanocrystals....Pages 705-705 Excitonic transitions in cuprous oxide....Pages 705-705 Time resolved near field spectroscopy on CdSe/ZnSe quantum island....Pages 706-706 Growth and electrical characterisation of CdS/ZnSe heterostructures....Pages 706-706 Science for the Masses?....Pages 707-707 Growth and use of concentration gradient samples for the study of dynamical processes of laser resonant transitions in RE doped Y 2 O 3 (RE= Yb 3+ , Er 3+ , Ho 3+ )....Pages 707-707 Simplified optical assembly for single-molecule spectroscopy....Pages 708-708 Quantum Cutting Phosphors....Pages 708-709 Splitting of X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence peaks in InGaN/GaN layers....Pages 709-709 Optical properties of InGaN alloys: an unsolved mystery....Pages 710-710 Study of Irradiation Defects in Quantum Structures of Semiconductors A 3 B 5 ....Pages 710-711 Numerical Studies of Semiconductor Quantum Structures....Pages 711-711 Visible luminescence of silicon microstructures fabricated with femtosecond-laser irradiation....Pages 711-711 Photodisruption in single cells using femtosecond laser pulses....Pages 712-712 Strain and indium compositions fluctuations in InGaN/GaN wurtzite epitaxial films studied by Raman Spectroscopy....Pages 712-712 Dipole-Dipole Interaction Effect on the Optical Response of Quantum Dot Ensembles....Pages 713-714 Effect of the matrix on the radiative lifetimes of rare earth doped nanoparticles embedded in matrices....Pages 714-714 Evidence for long-range interactions of rare earth ions doped in nanocrystals embedded in amorphous matrices with two-level systems of the matrix....Pages 714-714 Sol-gel processed Eu 2+ doped alkaline earth aluminates MAl 2 O 4 :Eu 2+ (M = Ca, Sr)....Pages 714-715 Nonlinear optical properties of metal nanoparticles: hyper-Rayleigh scattering studies....Pages 715-716 Luminescence Center Excited State Absorption in Calcium and Zinc Tungsates....Pages 716-716 Multi-phonon optical transitions in quantum nanostructures based on ionic crystals....Pages 716-717 Strain and composition in InGaN/GaN Layers....Pages 717-717 Raman Spectroscopy Studies in InGaN/GaN Epitaxial Layers....Pages 718-718 Thermal Effects of Nd PL Spectra in Garnet Hosts....Pages 718-718 Back Matter....Pages 723-727 Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute, held in Erice, Sicily, Italy, 15-30 June 2001