  A first principles, excited state analysis is carried out to identify ways of
producing silicon quantum dots with low excitonic reorganization energy. These
focus on the general strategy of either reducing or constraining exciton-phonon
coupling, and four approaches are explored. The results can be implemented in
quantum dot solids to mitigate polaronic effects and increase the lifetime of
coherent excitonic superpositions. It is demonstrated that such designs can
also be used to alter the shape of the spectral density for reorganization so
as to reduce the rates of both decoherence and dissipation. The results suggest
that it may be possible to design quantum dot solids that support partially
coherent exciton transport.
