Highly uniform, multi-stacked InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots embedded in a GaAs nanowire

Abstract

We demonstrate a highly uniform, dense stack of In0.22Ga0.78As/GaAs quantum dot (QD) structures in a single GaAs nanowire (NW). The size (and hence emission energy) of individual QD is tuned by careful control of the growth conditions based on a diffusion model of morphological evolution of NWs and optical characterization. By carefully tailoring the emission energies of individual QD, dot-to-dot inhomogeneous broadening of QD stacks in a single NW can be as narrow as 9.3 meV. This method provides huge advantages over traditional QD stack using a strain-induced Stranski-Krastanow growth scheme. We show that it is possible to fabricate up to 200 uniform QDs in single GaAs NWs using this growth technique without degradation of the photoluminescence intensity.