Electron relaxation in quantum dots by means of Auger processes

The present theoretical work deals with the relaxation of hot electrons in quantum dots by Coulomb scattering with an electron-hole plasma. A random-phase approximation is used which includes single-particle and collective-plasma excitations. We discuss the influence of the dot size, plasma density, and temperature. The resulting transition rates are of the order of 10¹² s^-1 for a plasma density of 10¹⁵ m^-2 in In0.53{Ga}0.47$As/InP. In the presence of a dense electron-hole plasma, hot electrons can relax efficiently by Auger processes, even in small semiconductor quantum dots where the relaxation by phonon scattering is weak.