Effect of matrix on InAs self-organized quantum dots on InP substrate

InAs self-organized quantum dots in In0.53Ga0.47As and In0.52Al0.48As matrices have been grown on InP substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The dot size in InGaAs has been found to be 3–4 times larger, but the areal density about an order of magnitude smaller than that in InAlAs. Low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) of the InAs/InGaAs quantum dots is characterized by a narrow (35 meV) PL line as compared to that of InAs/InAlAs quantum dots (170 meV). Quantum dot formation increases the carrier localization energy as compared to quantum well structures with the same InAs thickness in a similar manner for both InAs/InGaAs and InAs/InAlAs structures. The effect of the barrier band gap on the optical transition energy is qualitatively the same for quantum well and quantum dot structures. The results demonstrate a possibility of controlling the quantum dot emission wavelength by varying the matrix composition.