From nonlocal electrons to delocalized electrons and artificial atoms

Abstract

After spending a portion of his career on nonlocal electron kinetics in plasmas, the speaker entered a new phase of his career with plasma materials synthesis. The talk will discuss how plasmas can be used to synthesize, with very high control, nanocrystals of a wide range of materials. Some of these materials, such as silicon nanocrystals, can display quantum confined and are thus named "quantum dots," often also referred to as artificial atoms. The talk will discuss some of the applications of these materials in renewable energy applications, such as luminescent solar concentration. Also of interest are the electronic properties of films of plasma-synthesized nanocrystals. These films can provide new insights into the insulator-metal transition in disordered nanocrystal materials.