Photoluminescence enhancement in double Ge/Si quantum dot structures

The luminescence properties of double Ge/Si quantum dot structures are studied at liquid helium temperature depending on the Si spacer thickness d in QD molecules. A seven-fold increase in the integrated photoluminescence intensity is obtained for the structures with optimal thickness d = 2 nm. This enhancement is explained by increasing the overlap integral of electron and hole wavefunctions. Two main factors promote this increasing. The first one is that the electrons are localized at the QD base edges and their wavefunctions are the linear combinations of the states of in-plane Δ valleys, which are perpendicular in k-space to the growth direction [001]. This results in the increasing probability of electron penetration into Ge barriers. The second factor is the arrangement of Ge nanoclusters in closely spaced QD groups. The strong tunnel coupling of QDs within these groups increases the probability of hole finding at the QD base edge, that also promotes the increase in the radiative recombination probability.     

Phonons in Ge/Si quantum dot structures: influence of growth temperature

In this paper we present the results of a Raman study of Ge/Si quantum dot (QD) superlattices grown with different thicknesses of a Si interlayer and at different substrate temperatures. The built-in strain and atomic intermixing in the QDs are deduced from an analysis of optical phonon frequencies of the QDs obtained from Raman spectra of the structures.     

Bound polaron in quantum dot quantum well structures

The problem of bound polarons in quantum dot quantum well (QDQW) structures is studied theoretically. The eigenfrequencies of bulk longitudinal optical (LO) and surface optical (SO) modes are derived in the framework of the dielectric continuum approximation. The electron--phonon interaction Hamiltonian for QDQW structures is obtained and the exchange interaction between impurity and LO-phonons is discussed. The binding energy and the trapping energy of the bound polaron in CdS/HgS QDQW structures are calculated. The numerical results reveal that there exist three branches of eigenfrequencies of surface optical vibration in the CdS/HgS QDQW structure. It is also shown that the binding energy and the trapping energy increase as the inner radius of the QDQW structure decreases, with the outer radius fixed, and the trapping energy takes a major part of the binding energy when the inner radius is very small.     

Selective growth of GaInN quantum dot structures

In this work, we present an approach to fabricate GaInN quantum dots. The idea is to have a complete control of the position of the quantum dot during the growth and to use this positioned dot for future functioning. For this purpose we have prepared templates with selectively grown GaN pyramids by MOVPE. After proper adjustment of the GaN growth we have overgrown these templates with InGaN to form the quantum dots on top of the pyramids. Finally the structures were capped with GaN and photoluminescence measurements were performed.     

Photoconductivity of Ge/Si quantum dot photodetectors

Various structures of self-assembled Ge/Si quantum dot infrared photodetectors were implemented and investigated. The electronic structure of the QDIPs was studied by electrical and optical techniques including I–V characteristics, dark current, photoconductivity, photoluminescence, and photo-induced infrared absorption. The photoconductive spectra consist of a broad multi-peak, composed of peaks ranging from 70 to 220 meV. Their relative intensity changes with bias. Comparative dark current measurements were performed. Dark current limits the performance of this first generation of Ge/Si QDIPs. It is plausible that direct doping in the dot layer is a viable way of reducing the dark current.     

Magneto-coulomb oscillations in GaAs-AlGaAs quantum dot structures

We report on experiments of the magnetotransport properties of GaAs-AlGaAs lateral quantum dots. At high magnetic fields for a 1 μm square dot structure, current flow occurred via edge states and, with the point contacts adjusted to allow transmission of one or more edge states, a strong backscattering resonance followed by short period oscillations were observed in the magnetoresistance, as B increased. At higher fields for a 2 μm dot, we observe a rapid rise in the magnetoresistance associated with the depopulation of the point contacts and the isolation of the dot from the leads. At still higher fields there occur periodic oscillations whose period was two orders of magnitude larger than would result from interference, or Aharonov-Bohm type effects.We analyze these phenomena using self-consistent electronic structure calculations for our devices. In particular, we show that the evolution of the terrace like structure of the potential profile profoundly affects the single particle spectrum within the dot when several Landau levels are occupied. For the large dot device, we expect that in the high field regime with the dot isolated from the leads, only a single Landau level is occupied in both the dot and the 2DEG region. In this regime, tunneling into and out of the dot is regulated by charging effects. We have introduced a "magneto-Coulomb oscillations" explanation of the periodic resonances that are observed.     

Vibrational spectroscopy of InAs and AlAs quantum dot structures

In this paper we present an experimental comparative study of InAs/AlAs periodical structures with InAs and AlAs quantum dots (QDs) by means of infrared and Raman spectroscopies. The first observation of optical phonons localized in InAs and AlAs QDs using infrared spectroscopy is demonstrated. Confined optical phonon frequencies of the QDs measured by means of Raman scattering are compared with those deduced from the analysis of infrared spectra performed in the framework of the dielectric function approximation.     

Photoconduction in tunnel-coupled Ge/Si quantum dot arrays

The photoconduction in a tunnel-coupled Ge/Si quantum dot (QD) array has been studied. The photoconductance (PC) sign can be either positive or negative, depending on the initial filling of QDs with holes. The PC kinetics has a long-term character (10²?10⁴ s at T = 4.2 K) and is accompanied by persistent photoconduction (PPC), whereby the PC value is not restored on the initial level even after relaxation for several hours. These phenomena are observed upon illumination by light with photon energies both greater and smaller than the silicon bandgap. A threshold light wavelength corresponding to a long-term PC kinetics depends on the QD filling with holes. A model describing the observed PC kinetics is proposed, according to which the main contribution to the PC is related to the degree of QD filling with holes. By applying the proposed model to the analysis of PC kinetics at various excitation levels, it is possible to determine the dependence of the hopping conductance on the number of holes per QD. The rate of the charge carrier density relaxation exponentially depends on the carrier density.     

Coherent electron transport in a Si quantum dot dimer

We show that the coherence of charge transfer through a weakly coupled double-dot dimer can be determined by analyzing the statistics of the conductance pattern, and does not require a large phase coherence length in the host material. We present an experimental study of the charge transport through a small Si nanostructure, which contains two quantum dots. The transport through the dimer is shown to be coherent. At the same time, one of the dots is strongly coupled to the leads, and the overall transport is dominated by inelastic cotunneling processes.     

Excitation transfer in novel self-organized quantum dot structures

We report on studies of excitation transfer processes in vertically self-organized pairs of unequal-sized quantum dots (QDs), created in InAs/GaAs bilayers having differing InAs deposition amounts in the first (seed) and subsequent layer. The former and latter enable independent control, respectively, of the density and the size distribution of the second layer QDs. This approach allows us to enhance the average volume and improve the uniformity of InAs QDs, resulting in low-temperature photoluminescence at 1.028 eV with a linewidth of 25 meV for 1.74 ML (seed)/3.00 ML InAs stacking. The optical properties of the formed pairs of unequal-sized QDs with clearly discernible ground-state transition energy depend on the spacer thickness and composition. Photoluminescence results provide evidence for nonresonant energy transfer from the smaller QDs in the seed layer to the larger QDs in the second layer in such asymmetric QD pairs. Transfer times down to 20 ps (36 ML GaAs spacer) are estimated, depending exponentially on the GaAs spacer thickness.     

AC-hopping conductance of self-organized Ge/Si quantum dot arrays

Dense (n=4×10¹¹ cm^-2) arrays of Ge quantum dots in a Si host were studied using attenuation of surface acoustic waves (SAWs) propagating along the surface of a piezoelectric crystal located near the sample. The SAW magneto-attenuation coefficient, ΔΓ=Γ(ω,H)-Γ(ω,0), and change of velocity of SAW, ΔV/V=(V(H)-V(0))/V(0), were measured in the temperature interval T=1.5–4.2 K as a function of magnetic field H up to 6 T for the waves in the frequency range f=30–300 MHz. Based on the dependences of ΔΓ on H, T and ω, as well as on its sign, we believe that the AC conduction mechanism is a combination of diffusion at the mobility edge with hopping between localized states at the Fermi level. The measured magnetic field dependence of the SAW attenuation is discussed based on existing theoretical concepts.     

Reasons of emission inhomogeneity in InAs quantum dot structures

The photoluminescence (PL) inhomogeneity has been studied in InAs quantum dots (QDs) embedded in the symmetric In_0.15Ga_0.85As/GaAs quantum wells (QWs) with QDs grown at different temperatures. It was shown that three reasons are responsible for the emission inhomogeneity in studied QD structures: (i) the high concentration of nonradiative recombination centers in the capping In_0.15Ga_0.85As layer at low QD growth temperatures, (ii) the QD density and size distributions for the structure with QD grown at 510 ^°C, (iii) the high concentration of nonradiative recombination centers in the GaAs barrier at higher QD growth temperatures.     

Photoluminescence scanning on InAs/InGaAs quantum dot structures

The photoluminescence spectra of InAs quantum dots (QDs) embedded into four types of In_xGa_1−xAs/GaAs (x = 0.10, 0.15, 0.20 and 0.25) multi quantum well MBE structures have been investigated at 300 K in dependence on the QD position on the wafer. PL mapping was performed with 325 nm HeCd laser (35 mW) focused down to 200 μm (110 W/cm²) as the excitation source. The structures with x = 0.15 In/Ga composition in the In_xGa_1−xAs capping layer exhibited the maximum photoluminescence intensity. Strong inhomogeneity of the PL intensity is observed by mapping samples with the In/Ga composition of x ≥ 0.20-0.25. The reduction of the PL intensity is accompanied by a gradual “blue” shift of the luminescence maximum at 300 K as follows from the quantum dot PL mapping. The mechanism of this effect has been analyzed. PL peak shifts versus capping layer composition are discussed as well.     

Electromagnetic-field-induced resonant structures for an open rectangular quantum dot

We study theoretically the electron transport properties for an open rectangular quantum dot under an external electromagnetic field illumination in the ballistic regime. Using the effective mass free-electron approximation, the scattering matrix for the system has been formulated by the time-dependent mode-match method. Some interesting properties of the electron transmission have been demonstrated through serval numerical examples. The dependence of electron transmission on the electron incident energy is found to exhibit Fano dip structures due to the field-induced intersubband scatterings into quasibound states in the dot. Moreover, with an appropriate incident energy the electron transmission as a function of the field frequency and/or amplitude shows a rich structure. Our results suggest that the electron transport properties of an open rectangular quantum dot are affected by the interplay effects between the nonadiabatic dot-lead connection and the applied field.     

Bandgap calculation in Si quantum dot arrays using a genetic algorithm

In this work we present a fast and accurate genetic algorithm to determine the envelope functions and eigenenergies of the ground states of electrons and holes in low-dimensional complex semiconductor structures. We have developed the theoretical formalism of the algorithm in a general way in order to make it easy to include arbitrary nonparabolic and anisotropic band profiles in the calculations. From these results, calculation of the bandgaps of nanostructures can be carried out efficiently.Besides presenting and testing the algorithm, we calculate the ground state of electron and holes in two-dimensional quantum dot arrays, taking nonparabolicity and anisotropy into account.     

Current instabilities in GaAs/InAs self-aggregated quantum dot structures

Excess current was obtained in GaAs/InAs quantum dot structures at low temperatures and low current levels. This excess current exhibited instabilities with changing the bias, and over the time. It has been concluded that the excess current is a minority injection current connected with recombination through defects originated from the formation of QDs. The instabilities are connected with unstable occupation of energy levels induced by the above defects, which depend on temperature and on the current level.     

Ge/Si半导体量子点的应变分布与平衡形态

基于各向异性弹性理论的有限元方法，研究了金字塔形自组织Ge/Si半导体量子点应变能随高宽比变化的规律：系统的应变能随着高宽比的增大而逐渐减小.并通过自由能(应变能与表面能之和)讨论了量子点的平衡形态.结果表明，对于固定体积的量子点，存在一个高宽比值，称之为平衡高宽比，使得系统的自由能最低.同时，还给出了量子点的应力、应变、流体静应变及双轴应变分布.这些可以作为阐明应变自组织量子点实验的理论基础. 关键词： 量子点 应变分布 自由能 平衡形态     

Theoretical studies on intervalley splittings in Si/SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> quantum dot structures

Using the coupled cluster method we investigatespin-s J ₁-J′ ₂ Heisenberg antiferromagnets (HAFs) on an infinite, anisotropic, two-dimensional triangular lattice for the two cases where the spin quantum number s = 1 and s = $\frac{3} {2}$\frac{3} {2}. With respect to an underlying square-lattice geometry the model has antiferromagnetic (J ₁ > 0) bonds between nearest neighbours and competing (J′ ₂ > 0) bonds between next-nearest neighbours across only one of the diagonals of each square plaquette, the same diagonal in each square. In a topologically equivalent triangular-lattice geometry, the model has two types of nearest-neighbour bonds: namely the J′ ₂ ≡ κJ ₁ bonds along parallel chains and the J ₁ bonds producing an interchain coupling. The model thus interpolates between an isotropic HAF on the square lattice at one limit (κ = 0) and a set of decoupled chains at the other limit (κ → ∞), with the isotropic HAF on the triangular lattice in between at κ = 1. For both the spin-1 model and the spin-$\frac{3} {2}$\frac{3} {2} model we find a second-order type of quantum phase transition at κ _c = 0.615 ± 0.010 and κ _c = 0.575 ± 0.005 respectively, between a Néel antiferromagnetic state and a helically ordered state. In both cases the ground-state energy E and its first derivative dE/dκ are continuous at κ = κ _c , while the order parameter for the transition (viz., the average ground-state on-site magnetization) does not go to zero there on either side of the transition. The phase transition at κ = κ _c between the Néel antiferromagnetic phase and the helical phase for both the s = 1 and s = $\frac{3} {2}$\frac{3} {2} cases is analogous to that also observed in our previous work for the s = $\frac{1} {2}$\frac{1} {2} case at a value κ _c = 0.80 ± 0.01. However, for the higher spin values the transition appears to be of continuous (second-order) type, exactly as in the classical case, whereas for the s = $\frac{1} {2}$\frac{1} {2} case it appears to be weakly first-order in nature (although a second-order transition could not be ruled out entirely).     

Infrared spectroscopy of intraband transitions in Ge/Si quantum dot superlattices

We report the study of infrared spectroscopy of intraband transitions in Ge/Si quantum dot superlattices. The superlattices, which were grown on (001) oriented Si substrates by a solid source molecular beam epitaxy system, are composed mainly of 20 or 30 periods of Ge dot layers and Si spacer films. The structural properties of them and of the uncapped Ge dots grown on the surfaces of some of them were tested by cross-sectional transmission electron and atomic force microscopes, respectively. It is found that the Ge quantum dots have flat lens-like shapes. Infrared absorption signals peaking in the mid-infrared range were observed using Fourier transform infrared and Raman scattering spectroscopy techniques. Experimental and theoretical analysis suggests that the mid-infrared response be attributed to intraband transitions within the valence band of the Ge quantum dots in the superlattices. The fact that the intraband absorption is strongly polarized along the growth axis of the superlattices signifies that the Ge quantum dots with flat lens-like shapes perform as Ge/Si-based quantum wells. This study demonstrates the application potential of these kinds of Ge/Si quantum dot superlattices for developing mid-infrared photodetectors.