Phononless hopping conduction in two-dimensional layers of quantum dots

Regularities are studied in charge transport due to the hopping conduction of holes along two-dimensional layers of Ge quantum dots in Si. It is shown that the temperature dependence of the conductivity obeys the Efros-Shklovskii law. It is found that the effective localization radius of charge carriers in quantum dots varies nonmonotonically upon filling quantum dots with holes, which is explained by the successive filling of electron shells. The preexponential factor of the hopping conductivity ceases to depend on temperature at low temperatures (T<10 K) and oscillates as the degree of filling quantum dots with holes varies, assuming values divisible by the conductance quantum e²/h. The results obtained indicate that a transition from phonon-assisted hopping conduction to phononless charge transfer occurs as the temperature decreases. The Coulomb interaction of localized charge carriers has a dominant role in these phononless processes.     

Hopping conductivity and Coulomb correlations in 2D arrays of Ge/Si quantum dots

The temperature and magnetic-field dependences of the conductivity associated with hopping transport of holes over a 2D array of Ge/Si(001) quantum dots with various filling factors are studied experimentally. A transition from the Éfros-Shklovski? law for the temperature dependence of hopping conductivity to the Arrhenius law with an activation energy equal to 1.0–1.2 meV is observed upon a decrease in temperature. The activation energy for the low-temperature conductivity increases with the magnetic field and attains saturation in fields exceeding 4 T. It is found that the magnetoresistance in layers of quantum dots is essentially anisotropic: the conductivity decreases in an increasing magnetic field oriented perpendicularly to a quantum dot layer and increases in a magnetic field whose vector lies in the plane of the sample. The absolute values of magnetoresistance for transverse and longitudinal field orientations differ by two orders of magnitude. The experimental results are interpreted using the model of many-particle correlations of holes localized in quantum dots, which lead to the formation of electron polarons in a 2D disordered system.     

Carrier hopping in InAs/AlyGa1−yAs quantum dot heterostructures: effects on optical and laser properties

The optical properties of InAs/Al_yGa_1−yAs self-assembled quantum dots are studied as a function of temperature from 10 K to room temperature. The temperature dependence of carrier hopping between dots is discussed in terms of the depth of the dot confinement potential and the dispersion in dot size and composition. We show that carrier hopping between dots influences both the electrical and optical properties of laser devices having dots as active medium.     

Electrical transport properties of consolidated ZnSe quantum dots at and above room temperature

Here we report a comprehensive study on the prevailing conduction mechanism and dielectric relaxation behavior of consolidated Zinc Selenide quantum dots in the frequency range of 1 kHz ≤ f ≤ 1.5 MHz and in the temperature range of 298K ≤ T ≤ 573 K. The ac conductivity increases either with increase in temperature or with increase in frequency, which is explained by the Jonscher Power law. At higher temperatures, correlated barrier hopping is found to be the prevalent charge transport mechanism with a maximum barrier height of 0.88 eV. The dielectric constant of the sample is found to exhibit weak temperature dependence. DC conductivity study reveals the semiconducting nature of the sample and it is discussed in the light of polaron hopping conduction. From the impedance spectroscopic study, role of the grains and grain boundaries in the overall electrical transport properties have been elucidated by considering an electrical equivalent circuit (composed of resistances and constant phase elements). Electric modulus study reveals non-Debye responses of the sample in the experimental range.     

Many-electron Coulomb correlations in hopping transport along layers of quantum dots

Experimental data are analyzed on the hopping transport of holes in two-dimensional layers of Ge/Si(001) quantum dots (QDs) under conditions of the long-range Coulomb interaction of charge carriers localized in QDs, when the temperature dependence of the conductivity obeys the Efros-Shklovskii law. It is found that the parameters of hopping conduction significantly deviate from the predictions of the model of one-electron excitations in “Coulomb glasses.” Many-particle Coulomb correlations associated with the motion of holes localized in QDs play a decisive role in the processes of hopping charge transfer between QDs. These correlations lead to a substantial decrease in the Coulomb barriers for the tunneling of charge carriers.     

Hall effect in hopping conduction in an ensemble of quantum dots

The Hall effect in heterostructures with a two-dimensional array of tunneling-coupled Ge quantum dots grown by molecular-beam epitaxy on Si is investigated. The conductivity of these structures in zero magnetic field at 4.2 K varies in the range of 10^?12?10^?4 Ω^?1, which includes both the diffusive transport under weak localization conditions and hopping conduction. It is shown that the Hall effect can be discerned against the magnetoresistance-related background in both high- and low-conductivity structures. The Hall coefficient in the hopping regime exhibits a nonmonotonic dependence on the occupancy of quantum dots by holes. This behavior correlates with that of the localization length of the hole wavefunctions.     

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.     

Noise enhancement due to quantum coherence in coupled quantum dots

We show that the intriguing observation of noise enhancement in the charge transport through two vertically coupled quantum dots can be explained by the interplay of quantum coherence and strong Coulomb blockade. We demonstrate that this novel mechanism for super-Poissonian charge transfer is very sensitive to decoherence caused by electron-phonon scattering as inferred from the measured temperature dependence.     

Fermi-liquid versus non-Fermi-liquid behavior in triple quantum dots

We study the effect of electron hopping in triple quantum dots modeled by the three-impurity Anderson model. We determine the range of hopping parameters where the system exhibits the two-channel Kondo effect and has non-Fermi-liquid properties in a wide temperature interval. As this interval is entered from above, the conductance through the side dots increases to a half of the conductance quantum, while the conductance through the system remains small. At lower temperatures the conductance through the system increases to the unitary limit as the system crosses over to the Fermi-liquid ground state. Measuring the differential conductance in a three-terminal configuration provides an experimental probe into the NFL behavior.     

Effect of magnetic field on Mott's variable-range hopping parameters in multiwall carbon nanotube mat

We report the temperature and magnetic field dependence of the conductivity of multiwall carbon nanotube mat in the temperature range 1.4-150 K and in magnetic fields up to 10 T. It is observed that charge transport in this system is governed by Mott’s variable-range hopping of three-dimensional type in the higher temperature range and two-dimensional type in the lower temperature range. Mott’s various parameters, such as localization length, hopping length, hopping energy and density of states at the Fermi level are deduced from the variable-range hopping fit. The resistance of the sample decreases with the magnetic field applied in the direction of tube axis of the nanotubes. The magnetic field gives rise to delocalization of states with the well-known consequence of a decrease in Mott’s T0 parameter in variable-range hopping. The application of magnetic field lowers the crossover temperature at which three-dimensional variable-range hopping turns to two-dimensional variable-range hopping. The conductivity on the lower temperature side is governed by the weak localization giving rise to positive magnetoconductance. Finally, a magnetic field-temperature diagram is proposed showing different regions for different kinds of transport mechanism.     

Dynamical localization effect in a coupled quantum dot array driven by an AC magnetic field

We have studied the transport properties of a ring-coupled quantum dot array driven by an AC magnetic field, which is connected to two leads, and we give the response of the transport current to the dynamical localization. We found that when the ratio of the magnetic flux to the total quantum dots number is a root of the zeroth order Bessel function, dynamical localization and collapse of quasi-energy occurs and importantly, the transport current displays a dip which is the signal of dynamical localization. The dynamical localization effect is strengthened as a result of the increase of the quantum dot number, and it is weakened on account of the increase of the dots-lead hopping rate.     

Electron dephasing of a GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well with self-assembled InAs dots

We study the magnetotransport of a GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well with self-assembled InAs quantum dots. Negative magnetoresistance is observed at low field and analysed by weak localization theory. The temperature dependence of the extracted dephasing rate is linear, which shows that the inelastic electron-electron scattering processes with small energy transfer are the dominant contribution in breaking the electron phase coherence. The results are compared with those of a reference sample that contains no quantum dots.     

Dynamics of coherent and incoherent spin polarizations in ensembles of quantum dots

The temperature dependence of spin coherence in InGaAs quantum dots is obtained from quantum beats observed in polarization-resolved pump-probe experiments. Within the same sample we clearly distinguish between coherent spin dynamics leading to quantum beats and incoherent long-lived spin-memory effects. Analysis of the coherent data using a theoretical model reveals approximately 10 times greater stability of the spin coherence at high temperature compared to that found previously for exciton states in four-wave-mixing experiments by Borri et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 157401 (2001)]]. The data on incoherent polarization reveal a new form of spin memory based on charged quantum dots.     

Coulomb blockade and hopping transport behaviors of donor-induced quantum dots in junctionless transistors

The ionized dopants, working as quantum dots in silicon nanowires, exhibit potential advantages for the development of atomic-scale transistors. We investigate single electron tunneling through a phosphorus dopant induced quantum dots array in heavily n-doped junctionless nanowire transistors. Several subpeaks splittings in current oscillations are clearly observed due to the coupling of the quantum dots at the temperature of 6 K. The transport behaviors change from resonance tunneling to hoping conduction with increased temperature. The charging energy of the phosphorus donors is approximately 12.8 meV. This work helps clear the basic mechanism of electron transport through donor-induced quantum dots and electron transport properties in the heavily doped nanowire through dopant engineering.     

双模自组织量子点光致发光的温度依赖性

采用稳态速率方程模型,对双模自组织量子点光致发光的温度依赖性进行了研究,模拟获得了不同温度下双模自组织量子点的光致发光光谱,并进一步研究了两组量子点分布的光致发光强度比的温度依赖性。研究表明:在低温下(<75K),两组量子点分布的发光强度比基本保持不变;随着温度的升高(75K相似文献   

Giant backscattering resonances in the magneto-resistance of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots

We discuss the observation of large resonant features, superimposed upon the quantum Hall plateaux of gated GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots. The resonances correspond to a magnetically induced increase in the edge state backscattering, and under certain conditions can imply a complete reflection of the applied current. We demonstrate that the resonances are correlated to the depopulation of bulk Landau levels, and suggest they result from an increase in backscatterlng via confined Landau levels, as the latter depopulate in a magnetic field. The resonances are therefore analogous to the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations, observed in two dimensional electron gas systems, and their temperature dependence is found to take the same functional form. We argue that the resonances are an intrinsic feature of edge state transport in quantum dots, since they result from scattering via Landau levels, controllably confined within the dot, and discuss our results in relation to recent theoretical and experimental studies, of edge state transport in small wires and dots.     

分子束外延生长ZnSe自组织量子点光、电行为研究

分别应用光致发光、电容电压和深能级瞬态傅里叶谱技术详细研究ZnSe自组织量子点样品的光学和电学行为.光致发光温度关系表明ZnSe量子点的光致发光热猝火过程机理.两步猝火过程的理论较好模拟和解释了相关的实验数据.电容电压测量表明样品表观载流子积累峰出现的深度(样品表面下约100nm处)大约是ZnSe量子点层的位置.深能级瞬态傅里叶谱获得的ZnSe量子点电子基态能级位置为ZnSe导带下的011eV,这与ZnSe量子点光致发光热猝火模型得到的结果一致.     

Coulomb blockade and hopping conduction in PbSe quantum dots

We report for the first time on rich and tunable transport phenomena in closed-packed arrays of PbSe colloidal nanocrystals (NCs) in the form of thin films. As the interdot coupling is increased, the system evolves from an insulating regime dominated by Coulomb blockade to a semiconducting regime, where hopping conduction is the dominant transport mechanism. The observed phenomena can be interpreted using the framework established mainly in the context of transport measurements in metallic quantum dots and disordered semiconductors.     

Analytical temperature dependence of the photoluminescence of semiconductor quantum dots

The excitation and relaxation of spatially confined excitons in semiconductor quantum dots have been considered. The temperature dependence of the luminescence of quantum dots in dielectric matrices is described by the model taking into account the singlet-triplet intercombination conversion of spatially confined excitons. The analytical expression describing the temperature dependence of photoluminescence is derived and the physical meaning of the constants involved in this expression is determined. The applicability of the expression to the analysis of the luminescent properties of the quantum dots is demonstrated by the example of silicon nanoclusters in a thin-film SiO₂ matrix.     

Temperature dependence of the electron distribution in a GaAs matrix with embedded InAs quantum dots

We report on the effect of the Debye averaging process on the CV characteristics of a sample containing four coupled planes of InAs self-assembled quantum dots. The observed electron distribution presented a dynamical dependence of the temperature during the C–V measurements which was explained in terms of the screening length dependence on the temperature. In addition, using the C–V data, we calculated the electron density at the planes containing the InAs dots and we have observed a high-temperature stability: the electron density at the quantum dots remained constant over a large range of temperature.