Prof. Hilmi Volkan Demir, director of the National Nanotechnology Research Center (UNAM) at Bilkent, has been asked to serve as guest editor of an issue of the IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics (JSTQE) that will focus on semiconductor nanocrystal optoelectronics.
The purpose of this issue of JSTQE is to highlight recent progress and trends concerning the optoelectronic characteristics and applications of crystalline semiconductor nanoparticles. These nanomaterials, of dimensions below 100 nm and more typically in the 1-10 nm range, are based primarily on II-VI, III-V or Group IV semiconductors and exhibit attractive size-dependent optical and electronic properties. They can be variously functionalized for solution processing and/or heterogeneous integration, facilitating a diverse range of thin films and other structures with customized absorption, emission and energy transfer properties. Moreover, they can be readily incorporated into a range of photonic crystal and microcavity structures to control light–matter interactions. Optoelectronic applications for these nanocrystals include use as fluorescent labels for biosensing, in new forms of light-emitting diode and display technology, in novel lasers, including those in mechanically flexible formats, and in solar cells.