We experimentally observe saturable absorption and dramatic three-photon absorption in various colloidal solutions of cadmium selenide quantum dots, with a strong size dependence witnessed for these properties. We also develop a model for the electronic portion of the nonlinearities that illustrates well the trends exhibited by our experimental data. The model incorporates six bands ͑three each in the valence and conduction bands͒.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.