Mechanical and electronic-structure properties of compressed CdSetetrapod nanocrystals

The coupling of mechanical and optical properties insemiconductor nanostructures can potentially lead to new types ofdevices. This work describes our theoretical examination of themechanical properties of CdSe tetrapods under directional forces, such asmay be induced by AFM tips. In addition to studying the general behaviorof the mechanical properties under modifications of geometry,nanocrystal-substrate interaction, and dimensional scaling, ourcalculations indicate that mechanical deformations do not lead to largechanges in the band-edge state eigenenergies, and have only a weak effecton the oscillator strengths of the lowest energy transitions