Surface photovoltage spectroscopy study of InAs quantum dot in quantum well multilayer structures for infrared photodetectors

Inter-band optical transitions in InAs submonolayer and Stranski-Krastanov quantum dot (QD) in quantum well (QW) nanostructures are studied by means of room temperature surface photovoltage (SPV) spectroscopy taking advantage of its high sensitivity and contactless nature. The QD optical transitions are identified by the combined analysis of SPV amplitude and phase spectra and are in agreement with photoluminescence results. The SPV spectra have further revealed the optical transitions in all other relevant layers in the structures - wetting layer, QWs, and AlGaAs barriers. The analysis of the SPV phase spectra has revealed that the carrier separation and transport in the QD structure is determined by the energy band bending, resulting from the slight residual p-type doping. The complicated interaction between the SPV signals from the nanostructure and the semi-insulating GaAs substrate is discussed and clarified. The advantages of the SPV spectroscopy for characterizing complicated nanostructures at room temperature are highlighted. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.