Growth of high-density InGaSb quantum dots on silicon atoms irradiated GaAs substrates

We discuss a technique that allows us to grow high-density GaSb and InGaSb quantum dots (QDs) on (0 0 1)-oriented GaAs substrates. We study the use of Si atom irradiation on the substrate surface as an anti-surfactant before the QDs fabrication. It is clear that the densities of GaSb and InGaSb QDs are drastically enhanced with the Si atom irradiation. Photoluminescence intensities from these QDs are also increased with the Si atom irradiation. These results indicate that the Si atom irradiation technique is useful to improve the properties of the Sb-based QDs.     

Long-wavelength luminescence from GaSb quantum dots grown on GaAs substrates

Self-assembled GaSb quantum dots (QDs) with a photoluminescence wavelength longer than 1.3 μm were successfully grown by suppressing the replacement of As and Sb on the surface of the GaSb QDs. This result means that GaSb can thus join InAs or GaInAs as a suitable material for QD lasers for optical communications.     

Single-electron transistor spectroscopy of InGaAs self-assembled quantum dots

A single-electron transistor (SET) is used to detect tunneling of single electrons into individual InGaAs self-assembled quantum dots (QDs). By using an SET with a small island area and growing QDs with a low density we are able to distinguish and measure three QDs. The bias voltage at which resonant tunneling into the dots occurs can be shifted using a surface gate electrode. From the applied voltages at which we observe electrons tunneling, we are able to measure the electron addition energies of three QDs.     

Nano-probe-assisted technology of indium-nano-dot formation for site-controlled InAs/GaAs quantum dots

We have successfully and reproducibly fabricated uniform indium (In) nano-dots at a selected point. Nano-dot formation was realized using an atomic force microscope (AFM) probe with a specially designed cantilever, which was equipped with a hollow pyramidal tip with a sub-micron size aperture on the apex and an In-reservoir tank within the stylus. The In nano-dots formed in this study can be directly converted to InAs quantum dots by subsequent irradiation of arsenic flux in the molecular beam epitaxy chamber, which is connected to the AFM chamber through an ultra-high-vacuum tunnel.     

Inelastic scattering processes in GaAs/n-AlGaAs selectively doped heterojunctions with InGaAs quantum dots

Inelastic scattering processes of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) in both normal and inverted n-AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction FET structures have been studied, for the case where InGaAs dots are embedded in the vicinity of GaAs channel. By analyzing the magnetoresistance data, the inelastic scattering time τ_in is determined as a function of the concentration N_2D of 2D electrons and shown to be reduced by 10–40% by the presence of InGaAs dots. By investigating a GaAs/n-AlGaAs inverted heterojunction FET with embedded InGaAs dots, we have varied the percentage P_oc of charged dots filled with an electron and found that τ_in decreases as P_oc increases, indicating that the inelastic scattering rate of 2DEG by charged dots is higher than that by the neutral ones.     

Electronic states of self-organized InGaAs quantum dots on GaAs (3 1 1)B studied by conductive scanning probe microscope

We have used conductive scanning probe microscope (SPM) in high vacuum and operated at 173 K in order to investigate the electronic properties of self-organized InGaAs quantum dots (QDs) grown on GaAs (3 1 1)B and (0 0 1) substrates. Ordered InGaAs quantum dot arrays on GaAs (3 1 1)B surface were fabricated by atomic-H assisted molecular beam epitaxy (H-MBE), and Si SPM tips coated with Au which warrants electrical conductivity were used to measure simultaneously both the topographic and current images of QDs surface. From the current–voltage (I–V) curves, unique and different plateau features were observed for QDs formed on GaAs (3 1 1)B and (0 0 1) substrates. The results suggested that a high degree of symmetry of InGaAs QDs on (3 1 1)B was responsible for the observed degeneracy of electronic states and artificial atom-like states. We demonstrate that this conductive SPM technique becomes a powerful tool in studies of single electron charging of individual dots.     

Enhanced photoluminescence of InGaAs quantum dots induced by nanoprobe indentation

We have found in the nanoprobe-photoluminescnece (PL) measurement that the PL from InGaAs quantum dots was enhanced remarkably by small elastic indentation of the nanoprobe onto the sample surface. In order to clarify the mechanism of the PL enhancement, the nanoprobe-induced strain distribution and the energy-band profiles in the bulk GaAs have been calculated on the bases of linear continuum elastic theory and six-band strain Hamiltonian. It was found that the nm-scale strain modulation by the nanoprobe indentation results in the confinement potential for light holes 50–70 nm beneath the nanoprobe, revealing that the hole accumulation into the minimum causes the PL enhancement.     

Exciton fine structure splitting of single InGaAs self-assembled quantum dots

We show how the resonant absorption of the ground state neutral exciton confined in a single InGaAs self-assembled quantum dot can be directly observed in an optical transmission experiment. A spectrum of the differential transmitted intensity is obtained by sweeping the exciton energy into resonance with laser photons exploiting the voltage induced Stark-shift. We describe the details of this experimental technique and some example results which exploit the 1 μeV spectral resolution. In addition to the fine structure splitting of the neutral exciton and an upper bound on the homogeneous linewidth at 4.2 K, we also determine the transition electric dipole moment.     

Energy-selective charging of type-II GaSb/GaAs quantum dots

The hole confinement in type-II self-organized GaSb/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) was investigated by combining optical excitation and time-resolved capacitance spectroscopy. The experimental results indicate energy-selective charging even for type-II QDs. With increasing excitation energy the apparent hole activation energy decreases, which is attributed to light absorption in sub-ensembles of QDs with decreasing hole localization. The large localization energy of about 450 meV and the possibility of optical-multiplexing makes type-II GaSb/GaAs QDs a potential material system for QD memory concepts.     

Effect of deposition period on structural and optical properties of InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots formed by InAs/GaAs short-period superlattices

Structural and optical properties of In_0.5Ga_0.5As/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) grown at 510 °C by atomic layer molecular beam epitaxy technique are studied as a function of n repeated deposition of 1-ML-thick InAs and 1-ML-thick GaAs. Cross-sectional images reveal that the QDs are formed by single large QDs rather than closely stacked InAs QDs and their shape is trapezoidal. In the image, existence of wetting layers is not clear. In 300 K-photoluminescence (PL) spectra of InGaAs QDs (n=5), 4 peaks are resolved. Origin of each peak transition is discussed. Finally, it was found that the PL linewidths of atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) QDs were weakly sensitive to cryostat temperatures (16–300 K). This is attributed to the nature of ALE QDs; higher uniformity and weaker wetting effect compared to SK QDs.     

Long-wavelength light emission from InAs quantum dots covered by GaAsSb grown on GaAs substrates

We fabricated InAs quantum dots (QDs) with a GaAsSb strain-reducing layer (SRL) on a GaAs(0 0 1) substrate. The wavelength of emission from InAs QD is shown to be controllable by changing the composition and thickness of the SRL. An increase in photoluminescence intensity with increasing compositions of Sb and thickness of the GaAsSb SRL is also seen. The efficiency of radiative recombination was improved under both conditions because the InAs/GaAsSb/GaAs hetero-interface band structure more effectively suppressed carrier escape from the InAs QDs.     

Polaron relaxation dynamics in InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots

Polaron decay in n-type InAs quantum dots has been investigated using energy dependent, mid-infrared pump–probe spectroscopy. By studying samples with differing ground state to first excited state energy separations the relaxation time has been measured between 40 and 60 meV. The low-temperature decay time increases with increasing detuning between the pump energy and the optical phonon energy and is maximum (55 ps) at 56 meV. From the experimentally determined decay times we are able to extract a low-temperature optical phonon lifetime of 13 ps for InAs QDs. We find that the polaron decay time decreases by a factor of 2 at room temperature due to the reduction of the optical phonon lifetime.     

Spectroscopy on single columns of vertically aligned InAs quantum dots

We have investigated the carrier relaxation dynamics in single columns of tenfold stacked vertically aligned InAs quantum dots by micro-photoluminescence measurement. The excitation spectrum in the stacked dots is much different from that in the single dot characterized by the existence of a zero-absorption region and sharp multiple phonon emission lines. We have observed a broad continuum absorption far below the wetting layer band edge in the spectrum of the single columns although we have confirmed the existence of a zero-absorption region in the same sample with reduced number of dot layers to almost single, realized by surface etching. The broad absorption feature suggests the existence of additional carrier relaxation channels through non-resonant tunneling between the dots.     

GaN quantum dots by molecular beam epitaxy

The conditions to grow GaN quantum dots (QDs) by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy will be examined. It will be shown that, depending on the Ga/N ratio value, the growth mode of GaN deposited on AlN can be either of the Stranski–Krastanow (SK) or of the Frank–Van der Merwe type. Accordingly, quantum wells or QDs can be grown, depending on the desired application. In the particular case of modified SK growth mode, it will be shown that both plastic and elastic strain relaxation can coexist. Growth of GaN QDs with N-polarity will also be discussed and compared to their counterpart with Ga polarity.     

Carrier-diffusion-limited remote optical addressing of single quantum dots

We present a scheme for remotely addressing single quantum dots (QDs) by means of near-field optical microscopy that simply makes use of the polarization of light. A structure containing self-assembled CdTe QDs is covered with a thin metal film presenting sub-wavelength holes. When the optical tip is positioned some distance away from a hole, surface plasmons in the metal coating are generated which, by turning the polarization plane of the excitation light, transfer the excitation towards a chosen hole and induce emission from the underlying dots. In addition, our procedure gives valuable insight into the diffusion of photo-excited carriers in the QD plane that can put limits to the addressing scheme.     

Absorption spectroscopy of single InAs self-assembled quantum dots

Excitonic transitions of single InAs self-assembled quantum dots were directly measured at 4.2 K in an optical transmission experiment. We use the Stark effect in order to tune the exciton energy of a single quantum dot into resonance with a narrow-band laser. With this method, sharp resonances in the transmission spectra are observed. The oscillator strengths as well as the homogeneous line widths of the single-dot optical transitions are obtained. A clear saturation in the absorption is observed at modest laser powers.     

Mid-infrared luminescence from coupled quantum dots and wells

Coupled nanostructures have been developed in the InAs/InSb/GaSb materials system in order to extend the emission wavelength further into the infrared, beyond 2 μm. The samples studied consist of a single narrow InAs quantum well grown below a layer of InSb quantum dots in a GaSb matrix, in which the coupling has been altered by changing the thickness of a GaSb spacer layer. The overall transition energy of the combined dot–well system is generally reduced with respect to the dots and well only but the dependence on spacer thickness is more complex than that expected from a simple envelope function model.     

Successful growth of two different quantum dots on one substrate

We report the successful growth of ZnSe and ZnTe quantum dots (QDs) embedded in ZnS on GaAs substrate. These QDs have good optical properties and show quantum confinement effect. High-resolution electron scanning microscope studies show that these QDs are grown in Volmer–Weber mode. It is found that the size of the QDs is controlled by the growth duration. When the growth time is short, high density of QDs could be fabricated, but with a long growth time the small QDs get together to form a large cluster. We also show that with this growth method it is possible to grow both ZnSe quantum and ZnTe QDs on one substrate at the same time. For this dual QDs system, two peaks corresponding to the emission from the ZnSe dots (3.0 eV, blue–violet) and ZnTe dots (2.6 eV, green–blue) could be observed at the same time in the photoluminescence measurement.     

Enhanced exciton–LO phonon coupling in doped quantum dots

We present photoluminescence measurements under strong magnetic field done on a sample with charged (n-doped) quantum dots. We have shown that the broadening of the luminescence line does not give a measure of the QDs size dispersion, and that the coupling of electron/hole pairs with LO phonons is greatly enhanced, because of the presence of the ionised impurities nearby the charged dots.