A high-purity GaSb/GaAs quantum ring system is introduced that provides both strong hole-confinement in the GaSb ring and electron confinement in its GaAs core. The latter is responsible for a reduced inhomogeous linewidth measured in photoluminescence, in comparison to the previous measurements made on nanostructures with differing morphology in this material system. This allows the resolution of multiple peaks in the photoluminescence due to discrete charging with holes, revealing the mechanism responsible for the excitation-power-induced blueshift.

Young, R.J.; Hayne, M.; Rambabu, P.; Koenraad, P.M.

Hayne, M. (2012). Linking structural and electronic properties of high-purity self-assembled GaSb/GaAs quantum dots. Physical Review B, 86(3) Please check the document version of this publication:• A submitted manuscript is the version of the article upon submission and before peer-review. There can be important differences between the submitted version and the official published version of record. People interested in the research are advised to contact the author for the final version of the publication, or visit the DOI to the publisher's website.• The final author version and the galley proof are versions of the publication after peer review.• The final published version features the final layout of the paper including the volume, issue and page numbers. Link to publication General rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.• Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research.• You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal.If the publication is distributed under the terms of Article 25fa of the Dutch Copyright Act, indicated by the "Taverne" license above, please follow below link for the End User Agreement: www.tue.nl/taverne Take down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us at: openaccess@tue.nl providing details and we will investigate your claim. We present structural, electrical, and theoretical investigations of self-assembled type-II GaSb/GaAs quantum dots (QDs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Using cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy (X-STM) the morphology of the QDs is determined. The QDs are of high purity (∼100% GaSb content) and have most likely the shape of a truncated pyramid. The average heights of the QDs are 4-6 nm with average base lengths between 9 and 14 nm. Samples with a QD layer embedded into a pn-diode structure are studied with deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS), yielding a hole localization energy in the QDs of 609 meV. Based on the X-STM results the electronic structure of the QDs is calculated using 8-band k·p theory. The theoretical localization energies are found to be in good agreement with the DLTS results. Our results also allow us to estimate how variations in size and shape of the dots influence the hole localization energy.

We present optical studies of individual and few GaSb quantum rings embedded in a GaAs matrix. Contrary to expectation for type-II confinement, we measure rich spectra containing sharp lines. These lines originate from excitonic recombination and are observed to have resolution-limited full-width at half maximum of 200 μeV. The detail provided by these measurements allows the characteristic type-II blueshift, observed with increasing excitation power, to be studied at the level of individual nanostructures. These findings are in agreement with hole-charging being the origin of the observed blueshift.

The dynamic behavior of single bistable Si dopants in the GaAs (110) surface, which switch between a positive and a negative charge configuration, was investigated using a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and noise analysis electronics. The dopant atom switching frequency shows a clear dependence on the bias voltage and tunneling current, because these parameters influence the escape and capture processes of electrons. Our physical model for these processes, taking into account the relevant tunneling barriers, matches well with the experimental data. By choosing the appropriate tunneling conditions, we show that a single dopant can be employed as a memory element. The STM tip serves both as an electrical gate to write and as a probe to read the information stored on a single Si atom.

Bistable behavior of single Si dopants in the (110) surface layer of GaAs was studied with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM). The Si atom acts as either a positively charged substitutional donor or a negatively charged interstitial. Its configuration can switch under the influence of a local biased STM tip. To independently manipulate the charge state, the sample was illuminated by a laser during STM operation. The Si atom can be reversibly switched between its positive and negative charge states by turning the laser on and off, respectively. This process occurs mostly with the photon energy tuned above the band gap of GaAs, indicating that photogenerated electron-hole pairs play an important role in the process. The occupation of the donor and interstitial configurations depends on the carrier dynamics, i.e., the possibility of the electrons to escape or to be captured. If the tip-induced band bending is large enough, it is possible for electrons to tunnel into the conduction band and the donor configuration is observed. Another escape path is created when the sample is illuminated and photogenerated holes can recombine with the bound electrons of the dopant.

In this review, recent work is discussed on bistable Si dopants in the GaAs (1 1 0) surface, studied by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). The bistability arises because the dopant atom can switch between a positive and a negative charge state, which are associated with two different lattice configurations. Manipulation of the Si atom charge configuration is achieved by tuning the local band bending with the STM tip. Furthermore, illuminating the sample with a laser also influences the charge state, allowing the operation of the dopant atom as an optical switch. The switching dynamics without illumination is investigated in detail as a function of temperature, lateral tip position, and applied tunneling conditions. A physical model is presented that independently describes the thermal and quantum tunneling contributions to the switching frequency and charge state occupation of a single Si atom. The basic functionality of a memory cell is demonstrated employing a single bistable Si dopant as the active element, using the STM tip as a gate to write and read the information.

GaSb quantum dots (QDs) in a GaAs matrix are investigated with cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy (X-STM) and photoluminescence (PL). We observe that Al-rich capping materials prevent destabilization of the nanostructures during the capping stage of the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth process and thus preserves the QD height. However, the strain induced by the absence of destabilization causes many structural defects to appear around the preserved QDs. These defects originate from misfit dislocations near the GaSb/GaAs interface and extend into the capping layer as stacking faults. The lack of a red shift in the QD PL suggests that the preserved dots do not contribute to the emission spectra. We suggest that a better control over the emission wavelength and an increase of the PL intensity is attainable by growing smaller QDs with an Al-rich overgrowth.