Search

A sequence of photoluminescence spectroscopy based methods are used to rigorously identify and study all the main spectral features (more than thirty emission lines) of site controlled InGaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots (QDs) grown along [111]B in inverted tetrahedral pyramids. The studied QDs reveal signatures of one confined electron level, one heavy-hole-like level and one light-hole-like level. The various heavy-light-hole hybrid exciton complexes formed in these QDs are studied by polarization resolved spectroscopy, excitation power dependence, crystal temperature dependence and temporal single photon correlation measurements. The presented approach, which only requires a minimal theoretical input, enables strict spectral identification of the fine structure patterns including weak and spectrally overlapping emission lines. Furthermore, it allows the involved electron-hole and hole-hole exchange interaction energies to be deduced from measurements. Intricate fine structure patterns are qualitatively understood by group theory and shown to be very sensitive to the exact symmetry of the QD. Emission patterns influenced by hole-hole exchange interactions are found to be particularly useful for identifying QDs with high $C_{3v}$ symmetry and for probing symmetry breaking., Comment: 20 pages, 22 figures

We present a model for the interplay between the fundamental phenomena responsible for the formation of nanostructures by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy on patterned (001)/(111)B GaAs substrates. Experiments have demonstrated that V-groove quantum wires and pyramidal quantum dots form as a consequence of a self-limiting profile that develops, respectively, at the bottom of V-grooves and inverted pyramids. Our model is based on a system of reaction-diffusion equations, one for each crystallographic facet that defines the pattern, and include the group III precursors, their decomposition and diffusion kinetics (for which we discuss the experimental evidence), and the subsequent diffusion and incorporation kinetics of the group-III atoms released by the precursors. This approach can be applied to any facet configuration, including pyramidal quantum dots, but we focus on the particular case of V-groove templates and offer an explanation for the self-limited profile and the Ga segregation observed in the V-groove. The explicit inclusion of the precursor decomposition kinetics and the diffusion of the atomic species revises and generalizes the earlier work of Basiol et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 2962 (1998); Phys. Rev. B 65, 205306 (2002)] and is shown to be essential for obtaining a complete description of self-limiting growth. The solution of the system of equations yields spatially resolved adatom concentrations, from which average facet growth rates are calculated. This provides the basis for determining the conditions that yield selflimiting growth. The foregoing scenario, previously used to account for the growth modes of vicinal GaAs(001) during MOVPE and the step-edge profiles on the ridges of vicinal surfaces patterned with V-grooves, can be used to describe the morphological evolution of any template composed of distinct facets.

The emission spectral pattern of a charged exciton in a semiconductor quantum dot is composed of a quadruplet of linearly polarized lines in the presence of a magnetic field oriented perpendicularly to the direction of the photon momentum. By measuring the Zeeman splittings, we obtain the effective g factors of the carriers and find that the hole g factor is very sensitive to the QD shape asymmetry. By comparing the effective g factors obtained for the neutral and the charged excitons in the same quantum dot, we uncover the role of Coulomb correlations in these excitonic states., Comment: 16 pages; 3 figures; v2: corrected for error in Zeeman Hamiltonian; quality of figures was improved

We present a general theory for semiconductor polarons in the framework of the Froehlich interaction between electrons and phonons. The latter is investigated using non-commuting phonon creation/annihilation operators associated with a natural set of non-orthogonal modes. This setting proves effective for mathematical simplification and physical interpretation and reveals a nested coupling structure of the Froehlich interaction. The theory is non-perturbative and well adapted for strong electron-phonon coupling, such as found in quantum dot (QD) structures. For those particular structures we introduce a minimal model that allows the computation and qualitative prediction of the spectrum and geometry of polarons. The model uses a generic non-orthogonal polaron basis, baptized the "natural basis". Accidental and symmetry-related electronic degeneracies are studied in detail and are shown to generate unentangled zero-shift polarons, which we consistently eliminate. As a practical example, these developments are applied to realistic pyramidal GaAs QDs. The energy spectrum and the 3D-geometry of polarons are computed and analyzed, and prove that realistic pyramidal QDs clearly fall in the regime of strong coupling. Further investigation reveals an unexpected substructure of "weakly coupled strong coupling regimes", a concept originating from overlap considerations. Using Bennett's entanglement measure, we finally propose a heuristic quantification of the coupling strength in QDs., Comment: 17 pages, 11 figures, 3 tables

We have measured the temperature dependence of the conductance in long V-groove quantum wires (QWRs) fabricated in GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures. Our data is consistent with recent theories developed within the framework of the Luttinger liquid model, in the limit of weakly disordered wires. We show that for the relatively small amount of disorder in our QWRs, the value of the interaction parameter g is g=0.66, which is the expected value for GaAs. However, samples with a higher level of disorder show conductance with stronger temperature dependence, which does not allow their treatment in the framework of perturbation theory. Trying to fit such data with perturbation-theory models leads inevitably to wrong (lower) values of g., Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures

Negatively and positively charged excitons are identified in the spatially-resolved photoluminescence spectra of quantum wires. We demonstrate that charged excitons are weakly localized in disordered quantum wires. As a consequence, the enhancement of the "binding energy" of a charged exciton is caused, for a significant part, by the recoil energy transferred to the remaining charged carrier during its radiative recombination. We discover that the Coulomb correlation energy is not the sole origin of the "binding energy", in contrast to charged excitons confined in quantum dots., Comment: 4 Figs

Direct experimental evidences for excitonic lasing is obtained in optically pumped V-groove quantum wire structures. We demonstrate that laser emission at a temperature of 10 K arises from a population inversion of localized excitons within the inhomogenously-broadened luminescence line. At the lasing threshold, we estimate a maximum exciton density of about 1.8 105cm-1., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B

We report on time-resolved and steady-state photoluminescence studies of GaAs/AlGaAs V-groove quantum wire structures. Steady-state photoluminescence experiments are performed in the temperature range from 8K to 200K. We evaluate the relation between photoluminescence excitation and absorption and determine experimentally an optical density in order to analyze the temperature dependence of the photoluminescence spectra. We find that, at a temperature above 60K, the photoexcited electron-hole pairs reach a thermal equilibrium at the lattice temperature while, at a temperature below about 60K, they do not reach a quasi-equilibrium in the steady-state. Time-resolved photoluminescence studies performed at a carrier density of about 2. 104 cm-1 indicate that, at 60K, a quasi-equilibrium is reached on a time scale of 10 ps. Furthermore, the hot carriers cool in about 100 ps to the lattice temperature. At 8K, however, evidence of a non-thermal carrier distribution is found at the earliest times, which suggests that carriers in extended states are not in thermal equilibrium with carriers in localized states., Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures: Contribution to Int. Conf. "Optics of Excitons in Confined Systems"(OECS-VI, Aug.30-Sept.2, Ascona, Switzerland), to be published in Physica Status Solidi

We have studied the effect of disorder on the radiative properties of semiconductor quantum wires by time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy. The dependence of the radiative lifetimes is measured over a temperature range extending from 8 to 150 K. At low temperatures we find that the measured dependence does not conform to the theoretical prediction for recombination of free excitons in a quasi one-dimensional system due to the major influence of disorder. An extension of the theory is developped in order to take into account exciton ionization and the contribution of free carriers. A mean localization length for excitons is also estimated from the radiative lifetime at 8 K., Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures to be published in Phys. Rev. B (15 january 1999)