Abstract

Using self-ordered growth of GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures on patterned substrates, we have recently demonstrated the fabrication of arrays of structurally uniform quantum dots (QDs), each situated near the tip of a sharp pyramid [1]. In these nanostructures, the occurrence of QD barriers consisting of three-dimensional (3D) bulk material as well as 2D quantum wells and 1D quantum wires (QWRs) makes it possible to explore the effect of barrier-dimensionality on carrier capture, relaxation and recombination dynamics. Here, we use a micro-photoluminescence (μPL) setup with temporal resolution in the picosecond range to study carrier capture, relaxation and recombination dynamics in single QDs of different state separation. A rate equation model yields quantitative information about the timescale of the different processes.

© 2000 IEEE