The influence of different indium-composition profiles on the electronic structure of lens-shaped In_xGa_1−xAs quantum dots

Abstract

Abstract We present effective-mass calculations of the bound-state energy levels of electrons confined inside lens-shaped In x Ga 1− x As quantum dots (QDs) embedded in a GaAs matrix, taking into account the strain as well as the In gradient inside the QDs due to the strong In segregation and In-Ga intermixing present in the In x Ga 1− x As/GaAs system. In order to perform the calculations, we used a continuum model for the strain, and the QDs and wetting layer were divided into their constituting monolayers, each one with a different In concentration, to be able to produce a specific composition profile. Our results clearly show that the introduction of such effects is very important if one desires to correctly reproduce or predict the optoelectronic properties of these nanostructures.