Conduction-band anisotropy effects in spherical semiconductor nanocrystals: a theoretical study

The quantum confinement for a conduction-band electron within a spherical quantum dot is investigated in the framework of the effective-mass approximation. The conduction-band effective-mass anisotropy is fully taken into account. The exact solution for the electronic spectrum is provided, showing how the `isotropic' mass levels map into the new spectrum which accounts for the anisotropy. The removal of degeneracies typical of the spherical dot, as well as its effects on the infrared transition energies, are discussed.