Study on carrier trapping and emission processes in InAs/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots by varying filling pulse width during DLTS measurements

The carrier trapping and emission processes of InAs self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) on GaAs substrates were measured and analyzed using capacitance-voltage techniques and deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). We used different applied biases and filling pulse widths. This allowed the determination of the activation energies of defect/electronic states of the QDs within a range of 0.08-0.59 eV. These values represent the energy levels of the QDs with respect to the host matrix, showing that QDs have band-like interacting energy levels and that DLTS signals are largely affected by the electron density of states of QDs. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved