Virtual Quantum Dots in Thin Films of Polyvalent Metal
Igor Altfeder
Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138
The talk will review the STM study of 0D-electron interference in thin metallic
nanostructures made of group-IV and group-III materials. In these materials, the
interplay of electronic and structural anisotropy creates a novel form of
electronic confinement: Virtual Quantum Dots. Through this 0D-interference,
STM is capable to visualize nanoscale subsurface structures: subsurface dislocations,
atomic steps, and subsurface self-organization. I shall also discuss the contrasting
manifestations of the growth of group-III and group-IV nanostructures: interference-induced
height selection rules ("magic" numbers), formation of quantum wedges, and guided growth
of nanostructures on patterned semiconductor substrates.