Wave function engineering in elongated semiconductor nanocrystals with heterogeneous carrier confinement.

We explore two routes to wave function engineering in elongated colloidal CdSe/CdS quantum dots, providing deep insight into the intrinsic physics of these low-dimensional heterostructures. Varying the aspect ratio of the nanoparticle allows control over the electron-hole overlap (radiative rate), and external electric fields manipulate the interaction between the delocalized electron and the localized hole. In agreement with theory, this leads to an exceptional size dependent quantum confined Stark effect with field induced intensity modulations, opening applications as electrically switchable single photon sources.