1.3 μm range effectively cylindrical In 0.53Ga 0.47As/In 0.52Al 0.48As quantum wires grown on (2 2 1)A InP substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

Abstract

Vertically coupled quantum wires (QWRs) have been made by alternately stacking nominally 3.6 nm thick In 0.53Ga 0.47As self-organized QWR layers and 1 nm thick In 0.52Al 0.48As barrier layers on (2 2 1)A-oriented InP substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The surface of In 0.53Ga 0.47As QWR layers was corrugated at an amplitude of 1.1 nm and period of 27 nm, and lateral confinement potential is induced by their thickness modulation. The wavelength of photoluminescence (PL) from the stacked QWRs at 15 K becomes longer from 1220 to 1327 nm with increasing total number of stacked QWR layers, N SL, from 1 to 9, while PL full-width at half-maximum is reduced from 22 to 8.6 meV. The PL intensity with the polarization parallel to the wire direction, I ∥, is 1.30 times larger than that with the normal polarization, I ⊥, when N SL = 1 . The PL intensity ratio, I ∥/ I ⊥, reaches as large as 4 when N SL = 9 , indicating successful control of relative strength between vertical confinement and lateral confinement of carriers. The value of I ∥/ I ⊥ obtained for the stacked QWRs with N SL = 9 is the same value as cylindrical QWRs have. The results indicate that effectively cylindrical QWRs with the best uniformity and 1.3 μm range emission were realized by stacking of self-organized QWR layers.