Fabrication and characterization of microdisk resonators with In(Ga)As/GaAs quantum dots

Epitaxial quantum dots in stretchable optical microcavities

Arrays of GaAs microring optical resonators with embedded InGaAs quantum dots (QDs) are placed on top of Pb(Mg(1/3)Nb(2/3))O(3)-PbTiO(3) piezoelectric actuators, which allow the microcavities to be reversibly "stretched" or "squeezed" by applying relatively large biaxial stresses at low temperatures. The emission energy of both QDs and optical modes red- or blue- shift depending on the strain sign, with the QD emission shifting more rapidly than the optical mode with applied strain. The QD energy shifts are used to estimate the strain in the structures based on linear deformation potential theory and the finite element method. The shift of the modes is attributed to both the physical deformation and the change in refractive index due to the photoelastic effect. Remarkably, excitonic emissions from different QDs are observed to shift at different rates, implying that this technique can be used to bring spatially separated excitons into resonance.

Wrinkled-up nanochannel networks: long-range ordering, scalability, and X-ray investigation

Highly ordered two-dimensional self-organized nanochannel networks as well as free-standing nanomembranes are produced on rigid substrates by means of III-V semiconductor compressively strained layers grown on top of an etchant-sensitive material. The releasing process is controlled by regularly spaced pits obtained from photolithography and a subsequent wet chemical etching. By tuning basic film parameters such as strain and thickness, one obtains periodic arrays of two-dimensional nanochannel networks with symmetries defined by the shape and periodicity of the photolithographic starting pits. Such nanochannel networks with a submicroscale lateral feature size exhibit a surprising flexibility with respect to the crystal lattice symmetry, retaining the original film crystalline quality as confirmed by X-ray grazing-incidence diffraction (GID) measurements. Finite element modeling helps in understanding the particular process of the cross-nanochannel formation.

Optical properties of a wrinkled nanomembrane with embedded quantum well

A wrinkled nanomembrane with embedded quantum well (QW), fabricated by the partial release and bond back of epitaxial layers upon underetching, is investigated by spatially resolved micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy. From the observed QW transition energies and calculations based on the linear deformation potential theory, we find that the bonded back regions are fully relaxed and act on the strain state of the wrinkled QW. Light emission enhancement observed in the wrinkled QW is explained by interference contrast theory.