Single GaN/AlGaN quantum dot spectroscopy

Abstract

Microphotoluminescence of low-density GaN/AlxGa1-xN quantum dots grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy using in situ etching of AlGaN is presented. The detailed analysis of the emission from these structures enables the observation of pairs of lines separated by the energy up to 3 meV. They behave in a different way under different excitation power that suggests that this doublet structure can be associated with the exciton and trion (or biexciton recombination). It is observed that for different quantum dots the energy of the charged exciton complex emission could be higher or lower than the neutral exciton one. It is discussed in terms of a competition between attractive e-h and repulsive e-e (h-h) Coulomb interaction that occurs because of the existence of the built-in electric field that separates electrons and holes in the dot.