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We present results on the polarization-resolved photoluminescence emitted from InGaAs/AlGaAs single quantum dots (QDs) grown in inverted tetrahedral pyramids. The emitted light was detected for two mutually perpendicular linear polarization directions in the less conventional cleaved-edge geometry, in addition to the standard top-emission geometry. Whereas the in-plane linear polarization was isotropic, as a consequence of the high symmetry of the system, we found a strong polarization anisotropy of the edge-emitted light revealing QD states of predominantly heavy- or light-hole character. By temperature control of the charge state, several neutral and charged light-hole like exciton complexes were identified. In particular, a biexciton showing a twofold radiative recombination path, leading to two nearly perpendicularly polarized emission multiplets, was identified. These results are also of technological relevance for any design of optoelectronic QD-integrated devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exciton and cavity mode (CM) dynamics in site-controlled pyramidal quantum dots (QDs), integrated with linear photonic crystal membrane cavities, are investigated for a range of temperatures and photo-excitation power levels. The absence of spurious multi-excitonic effects, normally observed in similar structures based on self-assembled QDs, permits the observation of effects intrinsic to two-level systems embedded in a solid state matrix and interacting with optical cavity modes. The coupled exciton and CM dynamics follow the same trend, indicating that the CM is fed only by the exciton transition. The Purcell reduction of the QD and CM decay times is reproduced well by a theoretical model that includes exciton linewidth broadening and temperature dependent non-radiative processes, from which we extract a Purcell factor of 17±5. For excitation powers above QD saturation, we show the influence of quantum wire barrier states at short delay time, and demonstrate the absence of multiexcitonic background emission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two site-controlled quantum dots (QDs) were integrated in a photonic crystal molecule (PCM) formed by L3 nanocavities. A statistical analysis of the coupled cavity modes demonstrated the formation of bonding and anti-bonding delocalized PCM states. Excitonic transitions belonging to each QD were identified by scanning micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy. Co-polarization of the QDs photoluminescence with the coupled cavity modes provides evidence for the simultaneous coupling of two spatially separated QDs to the same PCM mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exciton recombination dynamics in tailored-potential, site-controlled AlGaAs quantum wires (QWRs) are studied. Time-resolved photoluminescence spectra evidence exciton localization inweakly disordered "uniform" QWRs, whereas deterministic bandgap grading is shown to suppresslocalization and promote exciton drift along the potential gradient. Measured exciton transit timesbetween two quantum dot probes placed at opposite ends of the potential gradient yield the effective1D exciton mobility as >1300 cm²/(eVs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a detailed study of biexciton complexes formed in single, site-controlled pyramidal GaInAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs). By using power dependent measurements and photon correlation spectroscopy, we identify the excitonic transitions of a large number of pyramidal QDs, exhibiting both positive and negative biexciton binding energies. Separation of charges within the QD, caused by piezoelectric fields, is believed to be responsible for the positive to negative crossover of the biexciton binding energy with increasing QD size. In particular, QDs exhibiting vanishing biexciton binding energies are evidenced, with potential applications in quantum information processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient sources of entangled photons ‘on demand’ are crucial for the development of quantum information technology. Such sources cannot rely on parametric down-conversion techniques because they generate entangled pairs with Poissonian statistics. Biexciton–exciton decays in semiconductor quantum dots have been proposed and demonstrated as a source of triggered polarization-entangled photons, but their efficiency is limited by the fine-structure splitting of exciton transitions due to low quantum dot symmetry. Here, we report on the generation of entangled photons from highly symmetric, site-controlled quantum dots grown in inverted pyramids. Polarization entanglement is demonstrated by measurements of the two-photon density matrix and the confirmation of several entanglement criteria. The unique symmetry and exceptional uniformity of the pyramidal quantum dots provide significant potential for producing sources of triggered entangled photons from as-grown quantum dots without resorting to any of the post-processing steps customarily used in previous studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exciton transfer between two parallel GaAs V-groove quantum wires or two planar quantum wells separated by AlGaAs barriers ranging from 5.5 nm to 20 nm thickness is studied by photoluminescence and photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy. It is found that the transfer is strongly reduced between the widely spaced quantum wires as compared with quantum wells. This observation is supported by model calculations, which yield strong dimensionality dependence of the photon-exchange transfer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We demonstrate control of the confined-state energies of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) grown on prepatterned substrates. The InGaAs/AlGaAs QDs self-order at the apex of self-limiting, inverted pyramids whose locations are fixed by lithography. The confinement energy in the dots is systematically varied across the substrate by changing the pattern of the pyramid array in their vicinity. The resulting energy- and site-controlled QDs show systematic and reproducible shifts of their emission wavelengths as well as antibunched photon emissions from confined single excitons. Such QDs should be useful for applications in quantum information processing and quantum communication devices, e.g., multiple-wavelength single-photon emitters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on efficient, narrow linewidth exciton recombination in GaAs/AlGaAs V-groove quantum wire light-emitting diodes at room temperature. The high efficiency is due to a selective carrier injection mechanism resulting in an estimated internal quantum efficiency of ∼20% with an electroluminescence (EL) linewidth as narrow as 15 meV. The thermal broadening contribution to the linewidth is 6 meV due to exciton scattering with optical phonons. An analysis of the EL peak shift in a magnetic field points out the typical superlinear behavior of the excitonic binding energy for a quantum wire. © 2001 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We fabricate and study quantum dot structures incorporating quasi-one-dimensional excited states. The structures are realized by graded bandgap GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wires self-formed inside inverted tetrahedral pyramids. The ground state transitions exhibit typical characteristics of fully confined excitons, including single photon emission. Efficient carrier thermalization and relaxation, as well as correlated photon emission is observed also among the excited states, indicating the formation of quasi-one-dimensional multi-exciton states. These structures offer interesting possibilities for collecting and directing charge carriers towards heterostructured potential traps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents corrections to a schematic diagram depicting narrow linewidth excitonic emission at room temperature from GaAs/AlGaAs V-groom quantum wire light-emitting diodes.

A systematic and simple theoretical approach is proposed to analyze true degeneracies and polarized decay patterns of exciton complexes in semiconductor quantum dots. The results provide reliable spectral signatures for efficient symmetry characterization, and predict original features for low C2v and high C3v symmetries. Excellent agreement with single quantum dot spectroscopy of real pyramidal InGaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots grown along [111] is demonstrated. The high sensitivity of biexciton quantum states to exact high symmetry can be turned into an efficient uninvasive postgrowth selection procedure for quantum entanglement applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]