Single InP/GaInP quantum dots studied by scanning tunneling microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy induced luminescence

In English We have studied the optical and structural properties of single, self-assembled InP quantum dots (QDs) overgrown with nominally 5 nm of GaInP, using an ultrahigh-vacuum scanning tunneling microscope (STM) operating at low temperatures. The STM is combined with an optical detection system, which allows us to detect the emission from individual quantum dots with high spatial resolution. We find that the InP QDs act as nucleation points for the GaInP overgrowth, where the strain induced by the overlayer give rise to a QD emission around 1.46 eV. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.