Electronic and electrical response of arrays of metallic quantum dots

We study ordered arrays of Quantum Dots (QDs) as model systems for the electronic structure and response of solids and devices built from nanoscale components. QDs self-assemble as two-dimensional solids, with novel optical and electric properties, which can be experimentally tuned. The properties are controlled chemically via the selection of the composition and size of the individual QDs and physically through such external controls as the packing, temperature, and electrical and magnetic fields, The freedom of the architectural design is constrained because even the best synthesis does not yield dots of exactly the same size. We discuss the effects of disorder on the electronic structure of arrays of metallic dots and on their transport properties.