Interaction of Nanostructures with Deterministic and Stochastic Electromagnetic Fields

Commonly, the optical response of a nanostructure is obtained by using plane-wave excitation. However, a different form of optical excitation may modify the response of the nanostructure. A theoretical study of the response of a spherical semiconductor quantum dot upon two different excitation forms is here presented: (1) a highly confined optical field and (2) an azimuthally polarized laser beam. The theory should be of importance for the design of nanoscale mechanical systems and for understanding the trade-offs of miniaturization.