Statistical study of stacked/coupled site-controlled pyramidal quantum dots and their excitonic properties

We report on stacked multiple quantum dots (QDs) formed inside inverted pyramidal recesses, which allow for the precise positioning of the QDs themselves. Specifically, we fabricated double QDs with varying inter-dot distances and ensembles with more than two nominally highly symmetric QDs. For each, the effect of the interaction between QDs is studied by characterizing a large number of QDs through photoluminescence spectroscopy. A clear red-shift of the emission energy is observed together with a change in the orientation of its polarization, suggesting an increasing interaction between the QDs. Finally, we show how stacked QDs can help influencing the charging of the excitonic complexes

Tuning InP self-assembled quantum structures to telecom wavelength: A versatile original InP(As) nanostructure "workshop"

The influence of hydride exposure on previously unreported self-assembled InP(As) nanostructures is investigated, showing an unexpected morphological variability with growth parameters, and producing a large family of InP(As) nanostructures by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy, from dome and ring-like structures to double dot in a ring ensembles. Moreover, preliminary microphotoluminescence data are indicating the capped rings system as an interesting candidate for single quantum emitters at telecom wavelengths, potentially becoming a possible alternative to InAs QDs for quantum technology and telecom applications

SiNx-induced intermixing in AlInGaAs/InP quantum well through interdiffusion of group III atoms

We analyze the composition profiles within intermixed and non-intermixed AlInGaAs-based multiple quantum wells structures by secondary ion mass spectrometry and observe that the band gap blue shift is mainly attributed to the interdiffusion of In and Ga atoms between the quantum wells and the barriers. Based on these results, several AlInGaAs-based single quantum well (SQW) structures with various compressive strain (CS) levels were grown and their photoluminescence spectra were investigated after the intermixing process involving the encapsulation of thin SiNx dielectric films on the surface followed by rapid thermal annealing. In addition to the annealing temperature, we report that the band gap shift can be also enhanced by increasing the CS level in the SQW. For instance, at an annealing temperature of 850 degrees C, the photoluminescence blue shift is found to reach more than 110 nm for the sample with 1.2%-CS SQW, but only 35 nm with 0.4%-CS SQW. We expect that this relatively larger atomic compositional gradient of In (and Ga) between the compressively strained quantum well and the barrier can facilitate the atomic interdiffusion and it thus leads to the larger band gap shift. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4764856

InAlAs solar cell on a GaAs substrate employing a graded InxGa1-xAs-InP metamorphic buffer layer

Single junction In0.52Al0.48As solar cells have been grown on a (100) GaAs substrate by employing a 1 mu m thick compositionally graded InxGa1-xAs/InP metamorphic buffer layer to accommodate the 3.9% mismatch. Cells processed from the 0.8 mu m thick InAlAs layers had photovoltaic conversion efficiency of 5% with an open circuit voltage of 0.72 V, short-circuit current density of 9.3 mA/cm(2), and a fill factor of 74.5% under standard air mass 1.5 illumination. The threading dislocation density was estimated to be 3 x 10(8) cm(-2). (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics. (http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4789521

Transfer printing of AlGaInAs/InP etched facet lasers to Si substrates

InP-etched facet ridge lasers emitting in the optical C-band are heterogeneously integrated on Si substrates by microtransfer printing for the first time. 500 μm × 60 μm laser coupons are fabricated with a highly dense pitch on the native InP substrate. The laser epitaxial structure contains a 1-μm-thick InGaAs sacrificial layer. A resist anchoring system is used to restrain the devices while they are released by selectively etching the InGaAs layer with FeCl3:H2O (1:2) at 8 °C. Efficient thermal sinking is achieved by evaporating Ti-Au on the Si target substrate and annealing the printed devices at 300 °C. This integration strategy is particularly relevant for lasers being butt coupled to polymer or silicon-on-insulator (SOI) waveguides

A site-controlled quantum dot light-emitting diode of polarization-entangled photons, violating Bell's inequality

The first site-controlled quantum dot light-emitting diode of non-classical light - single and polarization-entangled photons - violating Bell's inequality is presented in this work. The diode structure is based on highly symmetric, single, site-controlled pyramidal quantum dots

On-demand single-photons from electrically-injected site-controlled pyramidal quantum dots

We report on the performance of electrically-injected pyramidal quantum dots (PQDs) in terms of single-photon emission. We previously presented the generation of entangled photon pairs from similarly structured devices. Here we show that it is also possible to obtain single-photons upon continuous wave excitation as well as pulsed excitation, obtaining a low g 2 (0) of 0.088  ±  0.059, by discarding re-excitation events within a single excitation pulse by applying time-gating techniques

Contactless electroreflectance study of the surface potential barrier in n-type and p-type InAlAs van Hoof structures lattice matched to InP

N-type and p-type In0.52Al0.48As van Hoof structures with various thicknesses of undoped In0.52Al0.48As layer (30, 60, 90, and 120 nm) were grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy on InP substrates and studied by contactless electroreflectance (CER) at room temperature. The InAlAs bandgap related CER resonance followed by a strong Franz-Keldysh oscillation (FKO) of various periods was observed clearly for the two structures. This period was decreased with the decrease of thickness of undoped In0.52Al0.48As layer and was slightly narrower for p-type structures. The FKO period analysis indicates that the Fermi level is pinned 0.730.02 eV below the conduction band at In0.52Al0.48As surface. This pinning was attributed to the surface reconstruction combined with the adsorption of oxygen and carbon atoms (consequence of air exposure) which were detected on the In0.52Al0.48As surface by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Also, CER measurements repeated one year after the sample growth shows that the process of InAlAs oxidation in laboratory ambient is negligible and therefore this alloy can be used as a protective cap layer in InP-based heterostructures

Single pairs of time-bin-entangled photons

Time-bin-entangled photons are ideal for long-distance quantum communication via optical fibers. Here we present a source where, even at high creation rates, each excitation pulse generates, at most, one time-bin-entangled pair. This is important for the accuracy and security of quantum communication. Our site-controlled quantum dot generates single polarization-entangled photon pairs, which are then converted, without loss of entanglement strength, into single time-bin-entangled photon pairs

Comparison of InGaAs and InAlAs sacrificial layers for release of InP-based devices

Heterogeneous integration of InP devices to Si substrates by adhesive-less micro transfer printing requires flat surfaces for optimum attachment and thermal sinking. InGaAs and InAlAs sacrificial layers are compared for the selective undercut of InP coupons by FeCl3:H2O (1:2). InAlAs offers isotropic etches and superior selectivity (> 4,000) to InP when compared with InGaAs. A 500 nm thick InAlAs sacrificial layer allows the release of wide coupons with a surface roughness < 2 nm and a flatness < 20 nm. The InAlAs release technology is applied to the transfer printing of a pre-fabricated InP laser to a Si substrate