Using scattering-type near-field infrared microscopy in combination with a free-electron laser, intersublevel transitions in buried single InAs quantum dots are investigated. The experiments are performed at room temperature on doped self-assembled quantum dots capped with a 70 nm GaAs layer. Clear near-field contrast of single dots is observed when the photon energy of the incident beam matches intersublevel transition energies, namely the p-d and s-d transition of conduction band electrons confined in the dots. The observed room-temperature line width of 5-8 meV of these resonances in the mid-infrared range is significantly below the inhomogeneously broadened spectral lines of quantum dot ensembles. The experiment highlights the strength of near-field microspectroscopy by demonstrating signals from bound-to-bound transitions of single electrons in a probe volume of the order of (100 nm)(3).

The authors report the observation of strong polarization anisotropy in the photoluminescence (PL) and the absorption spectra of [112¯0] oriented A-plane wurtzite InN films grown on R-plane (11¯02) sapphire substrates using molecular beam epitaxy. For A-plane films the c axis lies in the film plane. The PL signal collected along [112¯0] with electric vector E⊥c is more than three times larger than for E‖c. Both PL signals peak around 0.67eV at 10K. The absorption edge for E‖c is shifted to higher energy by 20meV relative to E⊥c. Optical polarization anisotropy in wurtzite nitrides originates from their valence band structure which can be significantly modified by strain in the film. The authors explain the observed polarization anisotropy by comparison with electronic band structure calculations that take into account anisotropic in-plane strain in the films. The results suggest that wurtzite InN has a narrow band gap close to 0.7eV at 10K.

The authors present results of a perturbation theory study of the combined effects of composition and anisotropic in-plane strain on the optical polarization properties of the three interband transitions in the vicinity of the fundamental energy gap of wurtzite group-III-nitride alloy films, pseudomorphically grown on GaN substrates with nonpolar orientation such as M-plane GaN(11¯00). Valence band mixing induced by the anisotropic in-plane strain is shown to have a dramatic influence on the optical polarization properties. The results indicate that an increased efficiency of light emission in the visible spectral range can be achieved with compressively strained InxGa1−xN active layers. While AlxGa1−xN layers under tensile strain will exhibit a very poor light emission efficiency in the ultraviolet (UV) spectral range, efficient emission in the UV range can instead be achieved with InxAl1−xN films. These results also hold for alloy films on A-plane GaN(112¯0) substrates.

We present results of a theoretical study of the electronic band structure of wurtzite InN films under biaxial strain in the C ‐plane (0001) and in planes that correspond to non‐polar orientations such as the A ‐plane (11$ \bar 2 $0) and the M ‐plane (1$ \bar 1 $00). The calculations are performed under the k · p perturbation theory approach using the Bir–Pikus Hamiltonian. The results show that the fundamental bandgap of InN shifts by 30 meV (14 meV) for isotropic tensile (compressive) strain in the C ‐plane with out‐of‐plane contraction (dilation) of 0.2%. For films of non‐polar orientations, the c‐axis lies in the film plane and the strain is expected to be different between directions parallel and perpendicular to c. Such anisotropic strain give rise to valence band mixing which results in dramatic changes in the optical polarization properties as evidenced by the calculated oscillator strengths of the interband transitions. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

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