Nanowires

Abstract The present chapter develops the theory of interband, intersubband, and excitonic optical processes for semiconductor QWRs, in the same line as in earlier two chapters. The simple rectangular structure and analytical methods are considered first, followed by semi-analytical theories for practical structures. The classification of the one-dimensional nanostructures in terms of growth mechanisms that is, by epitaxial methods and by other chemical methods is next introduced and some examples of top-down and bottom-up methods are given. A few important physical processes and characteristics of nanowires, namely, polarization anisotropy in absorption and emission, and giant birefringence are then discussed. Finally, some of the application areas of nanowires, as light sources, photodetectors, solar cells, and in laser cooling are briefly mentioned.