Inter-dimensional effects in nano-structures

We report on two extensions of the traditional analysis of low-dimensional structures in terms of low-dimensional quantum mechanics. On one hand, we discuss the impact of thermodynamics in one or two dimensions on the behavior of fermions in low-dimensional systems. On the other hand, we use both quantum wells and interfaces with different effective electron or hole mass to study the question when charge carriers in interfaces or layers exhibit two-dimensional or three-dimensional behavior. We find in particular that systems with different effective masses in the bulk and in the interface exhibit separation of two-dimensional and three-dimensional behavior on different length scales, whereas quantum wells exhibit linear combination of two-dimensional and three-dimensional behavior on short length scales while the behavior on large length scales cannot be associated with either two-dimensional or three-dimensional behavior.