The future of physics of heterostructures: a glance into the crystal (quantum) ball

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Abstract
The advent of semiconductor heterostructures has opened many opportunities for novel physics fields, or has enabled to study with precision many concepts which were difficult to apprehend in bulk materials. How can we try to define the future developments in the physics of heterostructures? We identify four main (overlapping) directions: (i) the physics of the heterostructures materials system (fabrication processes, materials issues, bandgap discontinuities, approximations and their breakdown at small dimensions...); (ii) the follow-on of existing physics topics now carried out in heterostructures; (iii) the novel physical concepts and experiments which might be carried out in the future in heterostructures (a bottom-up approach to new physics driven by the capacity of heterostructures to act as microlaboratories for demonstrating new physical concepts, even originating from other fields of physics); (iv) the novel physics to be done in heterostructures in order to answer new demands, be it on general motivations (i.e. advances towards the limits of computing or communications) or on evaluating the physical limits of existing heterostructure concepts (i.e. defining the physical limits of electrical to optical energy conversion in (thresholdless?) lasers or in LEDs). We then describe some of the future physics on five examples: (i) the phonon relaxation issues in quantum dots; (ii) the search for non-epitaxial deposition techniques (an heterostructure "paint"), with its obvious solution through polymer/molecular electronics, considering organic molecules as ultimate heterostructure systems; (iii) the basic physics items and the wide applications stemming from the design of wavelength-scale structures such as microcavities and photonic bandgap materials; (iv) the development of materials and structures for a full quantum control of electron or photon dynamics; (v) the search for ultimate solutions based on novel physics for computation or telecommunications. This paper does not intend to be a full-fledged document on the future of heterostructure physics. It should rather be thought as trying to provoke thinking on the many opportunities offered by heterostructures. An examination of the numerous past achievements of semiconductor heterostructures induces one to be very modest in predicting the future: many of the new physical concepts appeared by surprise; Within the predicted physics concepts or applications, most did hardly work, and some of the most prominent ones today work for other reasons than predicted!

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