Control of stacking direction and optical anisotropy in InAs/GaAs quantum dots by in flux

Abstract

We have developed a technique to control the stacking direction of InAs/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) grown on GaAs(001) by varying the direction of the In flux. Transmission-electron microscope images of the stacked QDs reveal that the stacking direction tilts along the [110] direction according to the projection of the In flux direction on the (-110) and does not tilt in the [-110] direction. This anisotropic tilting behavior of the stacked QDs is considered to be caused by an anisotropic migration of In atoms on the (001) growth front. The linear polarization feature of the edge-emitted photoluminescence (PL) demonstrates a strong anisotropy of the strain distribution attributable to the tilted direction of the stacked QDs. According to multidirectional observations of the polarized PL, anisotropic valence band mixing was caused by strain symmetry lowering owing to the tilted stacking direction. © 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.