Optical transitions in parabolic quantum dot

Direct optical absorption of light is theoretically investigated in a spherical quantum dot from GaAs. The confinement potential of the dot is approximated as parabolic. Three regimes of size quantization are discussed: weak, strong, and intermediate. The corresponding threshold frequencies of absorption are determined. A comparison with the case of a spherical quantum dot with rectangular infinitely high confinement potential is performed. (c) 2005 Pleiades Publishing, Inc.