Temperature Dependence of Photoluminescence from Single and Ensemble InAs/GaAs Quantum Dots

We investigate the temperature dependence of photoluminescence from single and ensemble InAs/GaAs quantum dots systematically. As temperature increases, the exciton emission peak for single quantum dot shows broadening and redshift. For ensemble quantum dots, however, the exciton emission peak shows narrowing and fast redshift. We use a simple steady-state rate equation model to simulate the experimental data of photoluminescence spectra. It is confirmed that carrier-phonon scattering gives the broadening of the exciton emission peak in single quantum dots while the effects of carrier thermal escape and retrapping play an important role in the narrowing and fast redshift of the exciton emission peak in ensemble quantum dots.     

Effect of SiO2 Encapsulation on the Nitrogen Reorganization in a GaNAs／GaAs Single Quantum Well

Effects of SiO2 encapsulation and rapid thermal annealing on the optical properties of a GaNAs/GaAs single quantum well (SQW) are studied by low-temperature photoluminescence (LTPL). After annealing at 800℃ for 30s, a blueshift of the LTPL peak energy for the SiO2-capped region is 25meV and that for the bare region is 0.8 meV. The results can attribute to the nitrogen reorganization in the GaNAs/GaAs SQW. It is also shown that the nitrogen reorganization can be obviously enhanced by SiO2 cap-layer. A simple model is used to describe the SiO2-enhanced blueshift of the LTPL peak energy. The estimated activation energy of the N atomic reorganization for the samples annealing with and without SiO2 cap-layer are 2.9eV and 3.1 eV, respectively.     

PHOTOLUMINESCENCE STUDY OF InAs/GaAs SELF-ORGANIZED QUANTUM DOTS WITH BIMODAL SIZE DISTRIBUTION

We have investigated the temperature dependence of the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum of self-organized InAs/GaAs quantum dots. A distinctive double-peak feature of the PL spectra from quantum dots has been observed, and a bimodal distribution of dot sizes has also been confirmed by scanning tunneling microscopy image for uncapped sample. The power-dependent PL study demonstrates that the distinctive PL emission peaks are associated with the ground-state emission of islands in different size branches. The temperature-dependent PL study shows that the PL quenching temperature for different dot families is different. Due to lacking of the couple between quantum dots, an unusual temperature dependence of the linewidth and peak energy of the dot ensemble photoluminescence has not been observed. In addition, we have tuned the emission wavelength of InAs QDs to 1.3 μm at room temperature.     

Effects of Annealing Temperature on Structural and Optical Properties of ZnO Thin Films

The effects of annealing temperature on the structural and optical properties of ZnO films grown on Si （100） substrates by sol-gel spin-coating are investigated. The structural and optical properties are characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and photoluminescence spectra. X-ray diffraction analysis shows the crystal quality of ZnO films becomes better after annealing at high temperature. The grain size increases with the temperature increasing. It is found that the tensile stress in the plane of ZnO films first increases and then decreases with the annealing temperature increasing, reaching the maximum value of 1.8 GPa at 700℃. PL spectra of ZnO films annealed at various temperatures consists of a near band edge emission around 380 nm and visible emissions due to the electronic defects, which are related to deep level emissions, such as oxide antisite （OZn）, interstitial oxygen （Oi）, interstitial zinc （Zni） and zinc vacancy （VZn^-）, which are generated during annealing process. The evolution of defects is analyzed by PL spectra based on the energy of the electronic transitions.     

Optimum Indium Concentration for Growth of 1.3μmInAs/InxGa1-xAs Quantum Dots in a Well

Five InAs/InxGa1-xAs quantum dots in a well （DWELL） with different indium concentration x are grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy. The high quantum dot density is observed in the InAs/In0.3Ga0.7As DWELL. The photoluminescence （PL） experiments indicate that the ground state peaks of InAs/In0.15 Ga0.85As and InAs/In0.22 Ga0.78As DWELLs shift to 1.31 and 1.33μm, respectively. The optical properties are investigated by using the PL and piezoreflectance spectroscope methods. An abnormal blue shift has been observed with the further increase of x from 0.22 to 0.30.     

Temperature Insensitivity of Optical Properties of InAs/GaAs Quantum Dots due to a Pregrown InGaAs Quantum Well

Both the peak position and linewidth in the photoluminescence spectrum of the InAs/GaAs quantum dots usually vary in an anomalous way with increasing temperature. Such anomalous optical behaviour is eliminated by inserting an In0.2Ga0.8As quantum well below the quantum dot layer in molecular beam epitaxy. The insensitivity of the photoluminescence spectra to temperature is explained in terms of the effective carrier redistribution between quantum dots through the In0.2Ga0.8As quantum well.     

Characterization of ZnS nanoparticles synthesized by co-precipitation method

ZnS nanoparticles are prepared by homogeneous chemical co-precipitation method using EDTA as a stabilizer and capping agent. The structural, morphological, and optical properties of as-synthesized nanoparticles are investigated using x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible(UV-Vis)absorption, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The x-ray diffraction pattern exhibits a zinc-blended crystal structure at room temperature. The average particle size of the nanoparticles from the scanning electron microscopy image is about50 nm. The ultraviolet absorption spectrum shows the blue shift in the band gap due to the quantum confinement effect.The photoluminescence spectrum of Zn S nanoparticles shows a blue visible spectrum.     

Effects of annealing temperature on shape transformation and optical properties of germanium quantum dots

The influences of thermal annealing on the structural and optical features of radio frequency(rf) magnetron sputtered self-assembled Ge quantum dots(QDs) on Si(100) are investigated.Preferentially oriented structures of Ge along the(220) and(111) directions together with peak shift and reduced strain(4.9%to 2.7%) due to post-annealing at 650 ℃ are discerned from x-ray differaction(XRD) measurement.Atomic force microscopy(AFM) images for both pre-annealed and post-annealed(650 ℃) samples reveal pyramidal-shaped QDs(density ~ 0.26×10~(11) cm~(-2)) and dome-shape morphologies with relatively high density ~ 0.92×10~(11) cm~(-2),respectively.This shape transformation is attributed to the mechanism of inter-diffusion of Si in Ge interfacial intermixing and strain non-uniformity.The annealing temperature assisted QDs structural evolution is explained using the theory of nucleation and growth kinetics where free energy minimization plays a pivotal role.The observed red-shift ~ 0.05 eV in addition to the narrowing of the photoluminescence peaks results from thermal annealing,and is related to the effect of quantum confinement.Furthermore,the appearance of a blue-violet emission peak is ascribed to the recombination of the localized electrons in the Ge-QDs/SiO_2 or GeO_x and holes in the ground state of Ge dots.Raman spectra of both samples exhibit an intense Ge-Ge optical phonon mode which shifts towards higher frequency compared with those of the bulk counterpart.An experimental Raman profile is fitted to the models of phonon confinement and size distribution combined with phonon confinement to estimate the mean dot sizes.A correlation between thermal annealing and modifications of the structural and optical behavior of Ge QDs is established.Tunable growth of Ge QDs with superior properties suitable for optoelectronic applications is demonstrated.     

Dependence of bimodal size distribution on temperature and optical properties of InAs quantum dots grown on vicinal GaAs （100） substrates by using MOCVD

Self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) are grown on vicinal GaAs (100) substrates by using metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD). An abnormal temperature dependence of bimodal size distribution of InAs quantum dots is found. As the temperature increases, the density of the small dots grows larger while the density of the large dots turns smaller, which is contrary to the evolution of QDs on exact GaAs (100) substrates. This trend is explained by taking into account the presence of multiatomic steps on the substrates. The optical properties of InAs QDs on vicinal GaAs(100) substrates are also studied by photoluminescence (PL) . It is found that dots on a vicinal substrate have a longer emission wavelength, a narrower PL line width and a much larger PL intensity.     

Preparation and characterization of nontoxic magnetic-luminescent nanoprobe

A novel nontoxic,magnetic,and luminescent nanoprobe is prepared by using complex nanoparticles,which are composed of Fe3O4 nanoparticles and Mn-doped ZnS quantum dots(QDs).The nanocomposite probe can provide visible optical and magnetic resonance images simultaneously.Compared with the previously toxic cadmium and mercury based QDs,the superiority of the Mn-doped ZnS QDs is little virulence.The structure and the properties of the particles are characterized by energy dispersive X-ray analysis spectroscopy,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,transmission electron microscopy,photoluminescence spectroscopy,and vibrating sample magnetometer.     

Optical Properties of Highly Strained GaInAs／GaAs Quantum Wells Grown by Sb Assistance

Optical properties of highly strained GaInAs/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy with Sb assistance are investigated. The samples grown by Sb incorporation and Sb pre-deposition methods display high room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) intensity at extended 10ng wavelength. This result is explained by the surfactant effects of Sb during the growth of GaInAs/GaAs QW systems. An abnormal Sshaped temperature dependence of the PL peak position is found in the In0.42Ga0.58As/GaAs triple QWs sample grown with Sb pre-deposition. By investigating the transmission electron microscope images and time-resolved PL spectra, it is found that the S-shaped temperature dependence of the PL peak position originates from the exciton 10calization effect brought by the Sb-rich clusters on the QW interface.     

Photoluminescence and lasing properties of InAs/GaAs quantum dots grown by metal-organic chemical vapour deposition

Photoluminescence （PL） and lasing properties of InAs/GaAs quantum dots （QDs） with different growth procedures prepared by metalorganic chemical vapour deposition are studied. PL measurements show that the low growth rate QD sample has a larger PL intensity and a narrower PL line width than the high growth rate sample. During rapid thermal annealing, however, the low growth rate sample shows a greater blueshift of PL peak wavelength. This is caused by the larger InAs layer thickness which results from the larger 2-3 dimensional transition critical layer thickness for the QDs in the low-growth-rate sample. A growth technique including growth interruption and in-situ annealing, named indium flush method, is used during the growth of GaAs cap layer, which can flatten the GaAs surface effectively. Though the method results in a blueshift of PL peak wavelength and a broadening of PL line width, it is essential for the fabrication of room temperature working QD lasers.     

Broadband light emitting from multilayer-stacked InAs/GaAs quantum dots

We report the effect of the GaAs spacer layer thickness on the photoluminescence(PL) spectral bandwidth of InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots(QDs).A PL spectral bandwidth of 158 nm is achieved with a five-layer stack of InAs QDs which has a 11-nm thick GaAs spacer layer.We investigate the optical and the structural properties of the multilayer-stacked InAs/GaAs QDs with different GaAs spacer layer thicknesses.The results show that the spacer thickness is a key parameter affecting the multi-stacked InAs/GaAs QDs for wide-spectrum emission.     

Single-Photon Emission from a Single InAs Quantum Dot

Excitation power-dependent micro-photoluminescence spectra and photon-correlation measurement are used to study the optical properties and photon statistics of single InAs quantum dots. Exciton and biexciton emissions, whose photoluminescence intensities have linear and quadratic excitation power dependences, respectively, are identified. Under pulsed laser excitation, the zero time delay peak of second order correlation function corresponding to exciton emission is well suppressed, which is a clear evidence of single photon emission.     

Effects of Rapid Thermal Processing on Microstructure and Optical Properties of As-Deposited Ag2O Films by Direct-Current Reactive Magnetron Sputtering

（111） preferentially oriented Ag2O film deposited by direct current reactive magnetron sputtering is annealed by rapid thermal processing at different annealing temperatures for 5 min. The film microstructure and optical properties are then characterized by x-ray diffractometry, scanning electron microscopy, and spectrophotometry, respectively. The results indicate that no clear Ag diffraction peak is discernable in the Ag2O film annealed below 200°C. In comparison, the Ag2O film annealed at 200°C begins to exhibit characteristic Ag diffraction peaks, and in particular the Ag2O film annealed at 250°C can demonstrate enhanced Ag diffraction peaks. This implies that the threshold of the thermal decomposition reaction to produce Ag particles is approximately 200°C for the Ag2O film. In addition, an evolution of the film surface morphology from compact and pyramid-like to a rough and porous structure clearly occurred with increasing annealing temperature. The porous structure might be attributable to the escape of the oxygen produced during annealing, while the rough surface might originate from the reconstruction of the surface. The dispersion of interference peak intensity in the reflectance and transmission spectra could be attributed to the Ag particles produced. The lowered crystallinity and Ag particles produced induce a lattice defect, which results in an enhanced transmissivity in the violet region and a weakened transmissivity in the infrared region.     

Structural Characterization and Photoluminescent Properties of Zn1—xMgxO Films on Silicon

Zn1-xMgxO films have been grown on silicon at various substrate temperatures by pulsed laser deposition.The structural and photoluminescent properties of films as a function of substrate temperature have been studied.The optimized substrate temperature is 650℃.The x-ray diffraction spectra indicate that the films are highly C-axis oriented,and no phase separation is observed.The crystal grain size of the films is about 100nm as examined by atomic force microscopy.The cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy verified the C-axis orientation of the Zn1-xMgxO.Thesr films showed ultraviolet photoluminescence at room temperature.The near-band-edge emission peak of the Zn1-xMgxO film deposited at 600℃ has a blueshift (0.40eV) larger than that of the film deposited at 500℃ (0.33eV).The ratio of the near-band-edge to defect level peak intensity is as large as 159.     

Exciton—Phonon Scattering in CdSe／ZnSe Quantum Dots

A temperature-dependent photoluminescence measurement is performed in CdSe/ZnSe quantum dots with a ZnCdSe quantum well.We deduce the temperature dependence of the exciton linewidth and peak energy of the zero-dimensional exciton in the quantum dots and two-dimensional exciton in the CdSe wetting layer.The experimental data reveal a reduction of homogeneous broadening of the exciton line in the quantum dots in comparison with that in the two-dimensional wetting layer,which indicates the decrease of exciton and optical phonon coupling in the CdSe quantum dots.     

Effects of rapid thermal annealing on the morphology and optical property of ultrathin InSb film deposited on SiO2/Si substrate

Ultrathin InSb films on SiO2/Si substrates are prepared by radio frequency(RF) magnetron sputtering and rapid thermal annealing(RTA) at 300,400,and 500℃,respectively.X-ray diffraction(XRD) indicates that InSb film treated by RTA at 500℃,which is higher than its melting temperature(about 485℃),shows a monocrystalline-like feature.A high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HRTEM) micrograph shows that melt recrystallization of InSb film on SiO2/Si(111) substrate is along the(111) planes.The transmittances of InSb films decrease and the optical band gaps redshift from 0.24 eV to 0.19 eV with annealing temperature increasing from 300℃ to 500℃,which is indicated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy(FTIR) measurement.The observed changes demonstrate that RTA is a viable technique for improving characteristics of InSb films,especially the melt-recrystallized film treated by RTA at 500℃.     

Effects of Contents of Multiwall Carbon Nanotubes in Polyaniline Films on Optical and Electrical Properties of Polyaniline

We investigate the effects of different contents of multiwall carbon nanotubes(MWCNTs) on optical and electrical properties of polyaniline(PANI).The MWCNTs/PANI composites are deposited on glass substrates coated with indium tin oxide(ITO) by the spin-coating technique.The scanning electron microscopy shows that nanotubes are coated with the PANI layer and x-ray diffraction patterns show that all deposited composite films have an amorphous character.The analysis of a UV-vis spectrophotometer indicates the blue shift of the absorbance peak and a decrease in optical band gap value by the enhancement of the CNT content in the PANI matrix while the Urbach energy increases.The Raman spectrum shows the blue shift 1404→1417cm~(-1) and photoluminescence spectra show an increase in the intensity of characteristic PANI peak at 436 nm with the increasing CNT content.     

Effect of GaAs/GaSb Combination Strain-Reducing Layer on Self-Assembled InAs Quantum Dots

Self-assembled quantum dots capping with a GaAs/Gasb combined strain-reduced layer （CSRL） are grown by MBE. Their structural and optical properties are investigated by AFM and photoluminescence （PL）. PL measurements have shown that stronger emission about 1.3μm can be obtained by Sb irradiation and capping QDs with 3 ML GaAs/2 ML GaSh CSRL at room temperature. The full width at half maximum （FWHM） of the PL spectrum is about 20.2 meV （19.9 meV） at room temperature （2OK）, indicating that the QDs have high uniform, The result of FWHM is much better than the recently reported result, which is due to the fact that lower QD growth rate and growth interruption after the QDs deposition are adopted in our experiments.