  Laser-induced optical potentials for atoms have led to remarkable advances in
precision measurement, quantum information, and towards addressing fundamental
questions in condensed matter physics. Here, we describe analogous optical
potentials for electrons in quantum wells and wires that can be generated by
optically driving the transition between a single electron and a three-body
electron-exciton bound state, known as a trion. The existence of a bound trion
state adds a term to the ac Stark shift of the material proportional to the
light intensity at the position of the electron. According to our theoretical
calculations, this shift can be large relative to the thermal equilibrium
temperature of the electron, resulting in a relatively strong optical potential
that could be used to trap, guide, and manipulate individual electrons within a
semiconductor quantum well or wire. These potentials can be thought of as
artificial nano-structures on the scale of 100 nm that can be spin-dependent
and reconfigurable in real-time. Our results suggest the possibility of
integrating ultrafast optics and gate voltages in new resolved-carrier
semiconductor opto-electronic devices, with potential applications in fields
such as nano-electronics, spintronics, and quantum information processing
