We report on experimental and theoretical investigations of the optical anisotropy of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots grown by droplet epitaxy. With in situ annealing in the growth, the shape of quantum dots is systematically controlled from a tall and laterally symmetric shape to a flat and laterally elongated one. Photoluminescence spectroscopy demonstrates an uncommon observation: the more elongated the quantum dots, the lower the degree of linear polarization. Theoretical analysis based on a four-band k • p theory reveals a substantial impact of vertical confinement on the valence heavy-hole and light-hole mixing, which leads to the enhancement of polarization anisotropy for taller quantum dots. The influence of Coulomb interactions on polarization anisotropy is studied by using the partial configuration interaction method, and is shown to reduce the polarization anisotropy through the mixing of single-particle configurations with different symmetries.

International audienceWe study the effects of heavy hole-light hole (HH-LH) mixing on fine-structure and polarization properties of neutral excitons ( X-0) confined in single GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots (QDs) under the application of anisotropic biaxial stress. In the large HH-LH mixing regime, these properties are substantially different from the usually observed properties in the case of small or no mixing. By varying the applied stress, the mixing in the initially strain-free QDs changes from similar to 0 to similar to 70% and an anomalous anticrossing of the X-0 bright states is observed. The latter is attributed to stress-induced rotation of the in-plane principal axis of the QD confinement potential. We show that the analysis of free-excitonic emission of bulk GaAs surrounding the QDs not only allows estimation of the stress and mixing in the QDs, but also provides the quantum-confinement-induced HH-LH splitting of the as-grown QDs

We present a comprehensive theoretical investigation of spin relaxation processes of excitons in photoexcited self-assembled quantum dots. The exciton spin relaxations are considered between dark-and bright-exciton states via the channels created by various spin-admixture mechanisms, including electron Rashba and Dresselhaus spinorbital couplings (SOCs), hole linear and hole cubic SOCs, and electron hyperfine interactions, incorporated with single-and double-phonon processes. The hole-Dresselhaus SOC is identified as the dominant spin-admixture mechanism, leading to relaxation rates as fast as ∼10 −2 ns −1 , consistent with recent observations. Moreover, due to significant electron-hole exchange interactions, single-phonon processes are unusually dominant over two-phonon ones in a photoexcited dot even at temperatures as high as 15 K.

We present numerical investigations based on the Luttinger-Kohn four-band k · p theory and, accordingly, establish a quantitatively valid model of the excitonic fine structures of droplet epitaxial GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots under uni-axial stress control. In the formalisms, stressing a photo-excited quantum dot is equivalent creating a pseudo-magnetic field that is directly coupled to the pseudo-spin of the exciton doublet and tunable to tailor the polarized fine structure of exciton. The latter feature is associated with the valence-band-mixing of exciton that is especially sensitive to external stress in inherently unstrained droplet epitaxial GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots and allows us to mechanically design and prepare any desired exciton states of QD photon sources prior to the photon generation.

The intrinsic fine structure splittings (FSSs) of the exciton states of semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) are known to be the major obstacle for realizing the QD-based entangled photon pair emitters. In this study, we present a theoretical and computational investigation of the excitonic fine structures of droplet-epitaxial (DE) GaAs/AlGaAs QDs under the electro-mechanical control of micro-machined piezoelectricity actuators. From the group theory analysis with numerical confirmation based on the developed exciton theory, we reveal the general principle for the optimal design of micro-machined actuators whose application on to an elongated QD can certainly suppress its FSS. We show that the use of two independently tuning stresses is sufficient to achieve the FSS-elimination but is not always necessary as widely deemed. The use of a single tuning stress to eliminate the FSS of an elongated QD is possible as long as the crystal structure of the actuator material is in coincidence with that of the QD. As a feasible example, we show that a single symmetric bi-axial stress naturally generated from the (001) PMN-PT actuator can be used as a single tuning knob to make the full FSS-elimination for elongated DE GaAs QDs.

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