The nonlinear optical rectification of a confined exciton in a quantum dot

An exciton in a disc-like quantum dot (QD) with the parabolic confinement, under applied electric field, is studied within the framework of the effective-mass approximation. The nonlinear optical rectification between the ground and the first-excited states has been examined through the computed energies and wave functions in details for the excitons. The results show that the optical rectification susceptibility obtained in a disc-like QD reach the magnitude of 10(-2) m/V, which is 3-4 orders of magnitude higher than in one-dimensional QDs. It is found that the second-order nonlinear optical properties of exciton states in a QD are strongly affected by the confinement strength and the electric field. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.