Reducing the size of a coherently grown semiconductor cluster in all three directions of space to a value below the de Broglie wavelength of a charge carrier leads to complete quantization of the energy levels, density of states, etc. Such quantum dots are more similar to giant atoms in a dielectric cage than to classical solids or semiconductors showing a dispersion of energy as a function of wavevector. Their electronic and optical properties depend strongly on their size and shape, i.e. on their geometry. By designing the geometry by controlling the growth of QDs, absolutely novel possibilities for material design leading to novel devices are opened.

This multiauthor book written by world-wide recognized leaders of their particular fields and edited by the recipient of the Max-Born Award and Medal 2006 Professor Dieter Bimberg reports on the state of the art of the growing of quantum dots, the theory of self-organised growth, the theory of electronic and excitonic states, optical properties and transport in a variety of materials. It covers the subject from the early work beginning of the 1990s up to 2006. The topics addressed in the book are the focus of research in all leading semiconductor and optoelectronic device laboratories of the world."

The main focus of the book are the physical mechanisms behind the spontaneous formation of ordered nanostructures at semiconductor surfaces. These mechanisms are at the root of recent breakthroughs in advanced nanotechnology of quantum-wire and quantum-dot fabrication. Generic theoretical models are presented addressing formation of all basic types of nanostructures, including periodically faceted surfaces, arrays of step-bunches of equal heights and single- and multi-sheet arrays of both 2- and 3-D strained islands. Decisive experiments on both structural and optical characterization of nanostructures are discussed to verify theoretical models and link them to practical examples. The book also describes experimental tools in nanoengineering that enable one to intentionally control the parameters of self-organized nanostructures, such as chemical composition, shape, size, density and relative arrangement of quantum dots and wires. Practical applications of nanoepitaxial technologies are discussed in the framework of recent advances in quantum dot lasers.

This books focuses on recent break-throughs in the development of a variety of photonic devices, serving distances ranging from mm to many km, together with their electronic counter-parts, e.g. the drivers for lasers, the amplifiers following the detectors and most important, the relevant advanced VLSI circuits. It explains that as a consequence of the increasing dominance of optical interconnects for high performance workstation clusters and supercomputers their complete design has to be revised. This book thus covers for the first time the whole variety of interdependent subjects contributing to green photonics and electronics, serving communication and energy harvesting. Alternative approaches to generate electric power using organic photovoltaic solar cells, inexpensive and again energy efficient in production are summarized. In 2015, the use of the internet consumed 5-6% of the raw electricity production in developed countries. Power consumption increases rapidly and without some transformational change will use, by the middle of the next decade at the latest, the entire electricity production. This apocalyptic outlook led to a redirection of the focus of data center and HPC developers from just increasing bit rates and capacities to energy efficiency. The high speed interconnects are all based on photonic devices. These must and can be energy efficient but they operate in an electronic environment and therefore have to be considered in a wide scope that also requires low energy electronic devices, sophisticated circuit designs and clever architectures. The development of the next generation of high performance exaFLOP computers suffers from the same problem: Their energy consumption based on present device generations is essentially prohibitive.