Quantum Dot Lab - A Novel Visualization Tool using Jupyter
Category
Published on
Abstract
As semiconductor devices scale down into the nano regime, deep understanding of quantum mechanical properties of nano-structures become increasingly essential. Quantum dots are famous examples of such nano-structures. Quantum dots have attracted a lot of attention over the last two decades due to their potential in many opto-electronic applications, such as infrared photodetectors, intermediate-band solar cells, lasers, and QLED TVs. There is an existing sophisticated simulation tool for quantum dots (QDLab) on nanoHUB.org. We have extended QDLab by adding the feature to observe the sensitivity of the quantum dot properties to the variations in the inputs (Uncertainty Quantification). We believe that building interactive documents that combines both visually interactive simulations and educational aspects will help elucidate difficult quantum mechanical concepts for unfamiliar users (students). At the same time, familiar users (researchers) will be able to further explore quantum dot behaviors and ease documenting their research interactively. By implementing the quantum dot lab into the free-to-use Jupyter notebook on nanoHUB.org, students will better be able to read tutorials about the physics of quantum dots while simultaneously interactively simulating. In addition to students, researchers can document their observations and simulation results interactively in QDot-Jupyter documents. In the educational version of the interactive QDot-Jupyter , the reader is introduced to the quantum confinement physics involved in a nano 3D particle in a box. Also, the reader interactively sets a variety of inputs, such as: material, quantum dot shape, tight-binding approach, number of confined states to be solved, and more. For visualization, the user can view the 3D wavefunction, 2D cross- section normal to any axis, 1D line plot, and the energy states for the quantum dot. In this interactive document, the user is able to compare the results from the theoretical particle in a 3D box solution to the numerically computed solution. We believe that the QDot-Jupyter serves as a better tool than the quantum dot lab for both students and researchers. The interactive notebook style is easier for students, and the friendly interface allows researchers to document their work efficiently.
Cite this work
Researchers should cite this work as follows: