Science. 1992 Jun 5;256(5062):1425-7. doi: 10.1126/science.256.5062.1425.
New physics occurs in semiconductors when one or more dimensions of the crystal are reduced to a size comparable to bulk electron delocalization lengths (tens to hundreds of angstroms). The properties of "quantum dots" or semiconductor nanocrystals are now being studied, as techniques to fabricate the crystallites are developed. Temperature-dependent electron diffraction studies on nanocrystals of CdS show a large depression in the melting temperature with decreasing size, as a larger fraction of the total number of atoms is on the surface. Thermal stability may play a role in determining the uses of semiconductor nanocrystals.
当晶体的一个或多个维度缩小到与体电子离域长度（数十到数百埃）可比的尺寸时，半导体中就会出现新物理现象。随着晶体的制造技术的发展，现在正在研究“量子点”或半导体纳米晶体的性质。对 CdS 纳米晶体的温度依赖电子衍射研究表明，随着尺寸的减小，熔融温度大幅下降，因为总原子数的更大比例在表面上。热稳定性可能在决定半导体纳米晶体的用途方面发挥作用。
