Few-electron semiconductor quantum dots with Gaussian confinement

We have performed Hartree-Fock calculations of electronic structure of N \le 10 electrons in a quantum dot modeled with a confining Gaussian potential well. We discuss the conditions for the stability of N bound electrons in the system. We show that the most relevant parameter determining the number of bound electrons is $V_0 R^2$. Such a property arises from widely valid scaling properties of the con ning potential. Gaussian Quantum dots having N = 2, 5 and 8 electrons are particularly stable in agreement with Hund rule. The shell structure becomes less and less noticeable as the well radius increases.