Nonlinear optical properties of a Woods–Saxon quantum dot under an electric field

A theoretical study of the effect of the confining potential on the nonlinear optical properties of two dimensional quantum dots is performed. A three-parameter Woods–Saxon potential is used within the density matrix formalism. The control of confinement by three parameters and an applied electric field gives one quite an advantage in studying their effects on the nonlinear properties. The coefficients investigated include the optical rectification, second and third-harmonic generation and the change in the refractive index. Their dependence on the electric field values, dot size and the energy of the incoming photons is studied extensively.It is shown that the Woods–Saxon potential can be used to model the confinement in quantum dots with considerable success.