Temperature-dependent properties of single long-wavelength InGaAs quantum dots embedded in a strain reducing layer

We report on temperature-dependent investigations of single metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy-grown In(Ga)As/GaAs quantum dots at wavelengths above 1 μm. Here, two types of samples are compared, whereas the quantum dots differ in the material composition and are embedded in a strain reducing layer to achieve an emission redshift. The analysis is performed by standard micro-photoluminescence spectroscopy, time-correlated photon counting, and intensity second-order autocorrelation measurements. It is found that the long-wavelength quantum dots experience a high charge carrier confinement (∼200 meV), but the thermal emission of carriers into the barrier or the wetting layer is mainly dominated by the shell spacing of individual dots. Additionally, we demonstrate that the single-dot carrier dynamics is reservoir-dominated. The influence of the strain reducing layers seems to cause this effect, leading to changes in the effective dot filling rate and charge configuration. Single-photon emission is preserved up to 77 K for a sample spectrally reaching the telecom O-band and then allowing for quantum dot single-photon operation at liquid nitrogen temperatures.