Electrical and optical properties of self-assembled quantum dots

One of the main directions of contemporary semiconductor physics is the production and study of structures with a dimension less than two, i.e. quantum wires (QWi) and quantum dots (QDs), in order to realise novel devices that make use of low-dimensional confinement effects.One of the promising fabrication methods is to use self-organised three-dimensional (3D) structures, such as 3D coherent islands, which are often formed during the initial stage of heteroepitaxial growth in lattice-mismatched systems. Quantum dots, for example, are believed to provide a promising way for a new generation of optical light sources such as injection lasers. While quantum well structures are already widely used in optoelectronic devices, QWi and QDs appear to be much more difficult to fabricate for this purpose. Some of the electrical and optical properties of self-assembled QDs will be reported in this paper.     

LED modules with electrodynamic systems: Prospects for the development based on nanotechnologies

The development of LED modules based on electrodynamic systems with quantum wires and dots is analyzed. Microwave devices are employed as analogs. It is demonstrated that modern nanotechnologies allow the application of concepts used in the development of optical electrodynamic systems for the creation of effective LEDs and semiconductor lasers. Various configurations of LEDs based on quarter-wave multiresonator systems that contain high-quality stabilizing half-wave semiconductor resonators are proposed.     

Growth of microstructures by molecular beam epitaxy

Molecular beam epitaxy is the most widely currently used technique for the growth of semiconductor microstructures. Multilayers with thicknesses and smoothness controlled near the monolayer level are being produced, including, recently, quantum wells with special shapes, quantum wells to which electric fields may be applied, new structures with enhanced carrier mobilities, structures for tunneling injection of carriers, and possible structures for achievement of quantum wires and dots. New crystal systems and new growth techniques are extending the range of accessible microstructures.     

The history and future of semiconductor heterostructures

The history of the development of semiconductor heterostructures and their applications in various electron devices is presented, along with a brief historical survey of the physics, production technology, and applications of quantum wells and superlattices. Advances in recent years in the fabrication of structures utilizing quantum wires and especially quantum dots are discussed. An outline of future trends and prospects for the development and application of these latest types of heterostructures is presented. Fiz. Tekh. Poluprovodn. 32, 1–18 (January 1998)     

半导体量子点的自组织生长及其应用

所谓半导体量子点的自组织生长,是指具有较大晶格失配度的两种材料,依靠自身的应变能量,并以Ｓｔｒａｎｋｉ－Ｋｒａｓｔａｎｏｖ（Ｓ－Ｋ）生长模式,在衬底表面上形成的一定形状、尺寸和密度分布的自然量子点结构。本文主要介绍了纳米量子点的自组织生长,自组织生长最子点的发光特性及其在光电器件中的应用。     

Nanoscale selective area epitaxy for optoelectronic devices

Self-assembled quantum dots have been heavily researched in recent years because of the potential applications to quantum electronic and optoelectronic devices they present. The non-uniformity and random ordering resulting from the self-assembly processes, however, are detrimental to potential applications, prohibiting the type of engineering control necessary for complex systems. The work presented in this document has sought to overcome the limitations of self-assembly by combining selective area epitaxy via MOCVD with high-resolution electron beam lithography to achieve lateral control over semiconductor structures at the nanometer scale. Two different structures are presented. The first is patterned quantum dots which improve on the uniformity and order of similar self-assembled quantum dots. The second is an entirely novel structure, the nanopore active layer, which demonstrates the potential for this process to extend beyond the constraints of self-assembly. Experimental and theoretical results for both structures are presented.     

Lateral ordering of quantum dots and wires in the (In,Ga)As/GaAs(100) multilayer structures

The surface morphology and optical properties of the (In,Ga)As/GaAs(100) multilayer structures with self-organized quantum dots and quantum wires, which were grown by molecular-beam epitaxy, are investigated. It is found that the ordered arrangement of quantum dots in the heterointerface plane starts to form during the growth of the first periods of the multilayer structure. As the number of periods increases, quantum dots line up in series and form wires along the \([0\bar 11]\) direction. An increase in the lateral ordering of the structures under consideration correlates with an increase in the optical emission anisotropy governed by relaxation anisotropy of elastic strains and by the shape of nano-objects. A possible mechanism of lateral ordering of quantum dots and wires in multilayer structures, which includes both anisotropy effects of the strain fields and adatom diffusion, as well as the elastic interaction of neighboring quantum dots, is discussed.     

Self-assembled semiconductor structures: electronic andoptoelectronic properties

Strained epitaxy has been shown to produce pyramidal-shaped semiconductor dot structures by single-step epitaxy. The very high density of these dots (approaching per wafer) and their ever improving uniformity suggest that these features could have important applications in future microelectronics. Understanding the structural and electronic properties of these quantum dots is therefore of great importance. In this paper, we examine some of the physics controlling the performance of devices that could be made from such structures. The self-assembled quantum dots are highly strained and we will examine the strain tensor in these quantum dots using a valence force-field model. In this paper we will address the following issues: (1) What is the general nature of the strain tensor in self assembled quantum dots? (2) What are the electron and hole spectra for InAs-GaAs quantum dots? (a) What are the important intersubband radiative and nonradiative scattering processes in the self assembled quantum dots? In particular, we will discuss how the electron-phonon interactions are modified in the quantum dot structures. Consequences for uncooled intersubband devices such as lasers, detectors, and quantum transistors will be briefly discussed     

Electronic Structure of Semiconductor Nanocrystals

This paper reviews our recent development of the use of the large-scale pseudopotential method to calculate the electronic structure of semiconductor nanocrystals, such as quantum dots and wires, which often contain tens of thousands of atoms. The calculated size-dependent exciton energies and absorption spectra of quantum dots and wires are in good agreement with experiments. We show that the electronic structure of a nanocrystal can be tuned not only by its size,but also by its shape. Finally,we show that defect properties in quantum dots can be significantly different from those in bulk semiconductors.     

Role of Cooper pairs for the generation of entangled photon pairs from single quantum dots

Generation of entangled photon pairs from semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) is highly desirable for realizing practical solid-state photon sources for quantum information processing and quantum cryptography. However, the energy splitting of exciton states in QDs almost prevent the generation of entangled photon pairs. This paper discusses the new possibility with the injection of electron as well as hole Cooper pairs into QDs.     

Quantum phenomena in field-effect-controlled semiconductornanostructures

Quantum effects resulting from sub-100 nm features in planar, field-effect-controlled semiconductor structures or devices are discussed, and experimental results are compared with calculations. These devices are based on the GaAs-AlGaAs modulation-doped field-effect transistor (MODFET) and include grating-gate lateral surface superlattices. (LSSLs), grid-gate LSSLs, planar-resonant-tunneling field-effect transistors (PRESTFETs), multiple parallel quantum wires (MPQWs), and arrays of quantum dots (QDs). In contrast to conventional, epitaxially grown vertical quantum structures, planar structures offer the opportunity for electron confinement in three, two, and one dimensions and the flexibility of electrical tuning of quantum effects     

Electronic Structure of Semiconductor Nanocrystals

This paper reviews our recent development of the use of the large-scale pseudopotential method to calculate the electronic structure of semiconductor nanocrystals, such as quantum dots and wires, which often contain tens of thousands of atoms. The calculated size-dependent exciton energies and absorption spectra of quantum dots and wires are in good agreement with experiments. We show that the electronic structure of a nanocrystal can be tuned not only by its size,but also by its shape. Finally,we show that defect properties in quantum dots can be significantly different from those in bulk semiconductors.     

半导体材料研究的新进展

首先对作为现代信息社会的核心和基础的半导体材料在国民经济建设、社会可持续发展以及国家安全中的战略地位和作用进行了分析,进而介绍几种重要半导体材料如,硅材料、GaAs和InP单晶材料、半导体超晶格和量子阱材料、一维量子线、零维量子点半导体微结构材料、宽带隙半导体材料、光学微腔和光子晶体材料、量子比特构造和量子计算机用材料等目前达到的水平和器件应用概况及其发展趋势作了概述.最后,提出了发展我国半导体材料的建议.本文未涉及II-VI族宽禁带与II-VI族窄禁带红外半导体材料、高效太阳电池材料Cu(In,Ga)Se.CuIn(Se,S)等以及发展迅速的有机半导体材料等.     

Holes localized in nanostructures in an external magnetic field: g-factor and mixing of states

Semiconductors - The energy spectrum and wave functions of holes in the valence band in semiconductor nanosystems, including quantum wells, quantum wires, and quantum dots, in an external magnetic...     

Emission dynamics of dot and wire DFB lasers

Emission dynamics of InGaAs-InGaAsP dot and wire DFB lasers were systematically investigated and compared with quantum-well lasers. Accordingly, the effective carrier capture times, which limit the maximum modulation bandwidth of low-dimensional semiconductor lasers, were determined and compared for these lasers. A quite large effective capture time of about 350 ps was found for the dot laser in contrast to about 56 ps for the quantum-well laser. This is attributed to a dramatically reduced volume of active region which induces a large scaled-up quantum capture time in the dot lasers. The systematic comparison of the quantum-well, -wire and -dot lasers reveal the dominant limitation of geometry effect on the high-speed modulation of quantum-wire and -dot lasers except when the packing density of the dots or wires is increased.     

On the physics of semiconductor quantum dots for applications in lasers and quantum optics

The progression of carrier confinement from quantum wells to quantum dots has received considerable interests because of the potential to improve the semiconductor laser performance at the underlying physics level and to explore quantum optical phenomena in semiconductors. Associated with the transition from quantum wells to quantum dots is a switch from a solid-state-like quasi-continuous density of states to an atom-like system with discrete states. As discussed in this paper, the transition changes the role of the carrier interaction processes that directly influence optical properties. Our goals in this review are two-fold. One is to identify and describe the physics that allows new applications and determines intrinsic limitations for applications in light emitters. We will analyze the use of quantum dots in conventional laser devices and in microcavity emitters, where cavity quantum electrodynamics can alter spontaneous emission and generate nonclassical light for applications in quantum information technologies. A second goal is to promote a new connection between physics and technology. This paper demonstrates how a first-principles theory may be applied to guide important technological decisions by predicting the performances of various active materials under a broad set of experimental conditions.     

Functionalized Self‐Assembled InAs/GaAs Quantum‐Dot Structures Hybridized with Organic Molecules

Low‐dimensional III–V semiconductors have many advantages over other semiconductors; however, they are not particularly stable under physiological conditions. Hybridizing biocompatible organic molecules with advanced optical and electronic semiconductor devices based on quantum dots (QDs) and quantum wires could provide an efficient solution to realize stress‐free and nontoxic interfaces to attach larger functional biomolecules. Monitoring the modifications of the optical properties of the hybrid molecule–QD systems by grafting various types of air‐stable diazonium salts onto the QD structures surfaces provides a direct approach to prove the above concepts. The InAs/GaAs QD structures used in this work consist of a layer of surface InAs QDs and a layer of buried InAs QDs embedded in a wider‐bandgap GaAs matrix. An enhancement in photoluminescence intensity by a factor of 3.3 from the buried QDs is achieved owing to the efficient elimination of the dangling bonds on the surface of the structures and to the decrease in non‐radiative recombination caused by their surface states. Furthermore, a narrow photoluminescence band peaking at 1620 nm with a linewidth of 49 meV corresponding to the eigenstates interband transition of the surface InAs QDs is for the first time clearly observed at room temperature, which is something that has rarely been achieved without the use of such engineered surfaces. The experimental results demonstrate that the hybrid molecule–QD systems possess a high stability, and both the surface and buried QDs are very sensitive to changes in their surficial conditions, indicating that they are excellent candidates as basic sensing elements for novel biosensor applications.     

Calculation of valence band structures of InAs/GaAs quantum ring and quantum dot:using numerical Fourier transform method

This article puts forward a new method in calculating the band structures of low-dimensional semiconductor structures.In this study,the valence band structures of InAs/GaAs quantum ring and lens-shaped quantum dot are calculated with four-band model,in the framework of effective-mass envelope function theory.To determine the Hamiltonian matrix elements,this article develops the numerical Fourier transform method instead of the widely used analytical integral method.The valence band mixing is considered.The ...     

InP基应变自组装纳米材料及其光电子器件研究进展

半导体低维结构材料,如量子线(点)材料,由于其特殊的电子结构,在新一代光电子、微电子器件中有着重要的应用价值。本文对应变自组装InP基量子线(点)材料的生长制备、光学和电学特性及其在半导体激光器、红外探测器及其他光电子和微电子器件中的应用进行了综述,指出了目前需要改进的一些方面,并提出了一些相应的解决途径。     

II-VI族半导体量子点的发光特性及其应用研究进展

半导体量子点由于具有独特的发光特性而具有极高的应用价值。结合本实验室的工作介绍了半导体量子点的发光原理和发光特性，在实验中发现核壳结构的CdSe／CdS半导体量子点比没有包覆的CdSe半导体量子点的发光稳定性提高．吸收光谱和发射光谱均发生红移，而且粒径不同．半导体量子点所呈现的颜色也不同，随着粒径的增加吸收光谱和发射光谱向长波方向红移。介绍了半导体量子点在光电子器件和生物医学方面的应用．并对其发展前景进行了展望。