A site-controlled quantum dot system offering both high uniformity and spectral purity

In this paper we report on the optical properties of site controlled InGaAs dots with GaAs barriers grown in pyramidal recesses by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy. The inhomogeneous broadening of excitonic emission from an ensemble of quantum dots is found to be unusually narrow, with a standard deviation of 1.19 meV, and spectral purity of emission lines from individual dots is found to be very high (18-30 ueV), in contrast with other site-controlled systems.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Semiconductor nanostructures engineering: Pyramidal quantum dots

Pyramidal quantum dots (QDs) grown in inverted recesses have demonstrated over the years an extraordinary uniformity, high spectral purity and strong design versatility. We discuss recent results, also in view of the Stranski-Krastanow competition and give evidence for strong perspectives in quantum information applications for this system. We examine the possibility of generating entangled and indistinguishable photons, together with the need for the implementation of a, regrettably still missing, strategy for electrical control

Impact of Nitrogen incorporation on pseudomorphic site-controlled quantum dots grown by Metalorganic Vapour Phase Epitaxy

We report on some surprising optical properties of diluted nitride InGaAs_(1-y)N_y /GaAs (y<<1) pyramidal site-controlled quantum dots, grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy on patterned GaAs (111)B substrates. Microphotoluminescence characterizations showed antibinding exciton/ biexciton behavior, a spread of exciton lifetimes in an otherwise very uniform sample, with unexpected long neutral exciton lifetimes (up to 7 ns) and a nearly zero fine structure splitting on a majority of dots

A study of nitrogen incorporation in pyramidal site-controlled quantum dots

We present the results of a study of nitrogen incorporation in metalorganic-vapour-phase epitaxy-grown site-controlled quantum dots (QDs). We report for the first time on a significant incorporation (approximately 0.3%), producing a noteworthy red shift (at least 50 meV) in some of our samples. Depending on the level of nitrogen incorporation/exposure, strong modifications of the optical features are found (variable distribution of the emission homogeneity, fine-structure splitting, few-particle effects). We discuss our results, especially in relation to a specific reproducible sample which has noticeable features: the usual pattern of the excitonic transitions is altered and the fine-structure splitting is suppressed to vanishing values. Distinctively, nitrogen incorporation can be achieved without detriment to the optical quality, as confirmed by narrow linewidths and photon correlation spectroscopy

Unusual nanostructures of "lattice matched" InP on AlInAs

We show that the morphology of the initial monolayers of InP on Al0.48In0.52As grown by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy does not follow the expected layer-by-layer growth mode of lattice-matched systems, but instead develops a number of low-dimensional structures, e.g., quantum dots and wires. We discuss how the macroscopically strain-free heteroepitaxy might be strongly affected by local phase separation/alloying-induced strain and that the preferred aggregation of adatom species on the substrate surface and reduced wettability of InP on AlInAs surfaces might be the cause of the unusual (step) organization and morpholog

Wettability and "petal effect" of GaAs native oxides

We discuss unreported transitions of oxidized GaAs surfaces between (super)hydrophilic and hydrophobic states when stored in ambient conditions. Contact angles higher than 90deg and high adhesive force were observed for several air-aged epitaxial samples grown under different conditions as well as on epi-ready wafers. Regardless of the morphologies of the surface, superhydrophilicity of oxygen-plasma treated samples was observed, an effect disappearing with storage time. Reproducible hydrophobicity was likewise observed, as expected, after standard HCl surface etching. The relation between surface oxides and hydrophobic/hydrophilic behavior is discussed