The evolution of semiconductor superlattices and quantum nanostructures

In the early twentieth century, encounters with physical phenomena which require detailed analyses in nanoscale, such as electron motion, prompted the advent of quantum mechanics, since Newtonian mechanics could not possibly provide an adequate explanation for them. Electron tunnelling through nanoscale barriers is the most direct consequence of the law of quantum mechanics, for which the Esaki tunnel diode gave most convincing experimental evidence in 1957. Following the evolutionary path of quantum nanostructures, significant milestones are presented, including the birth of semiconductor superlattices, resonant tunnel diodes, quantum wires and dots.