Self-assembled GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots by molecular beam epitaxy and in situ AsBr3 etching

We report on a new method to produce self-assembled, unstrained, GaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots (QDs) with large confinement energy. First we create nanoholes on a GaAs surface by growing InAs islands on GaAs(0 0 1), overgrowing them with GaAs and etching the surface in situ with AsBr3 gas. Then we transfer the holes to an AlGaAs surface, fill them with GaAs and overgrow them with AlGaAs. In this way we obtain GaAs inclusions in an AlGaAs matrix. We investigate the optical properties of such QDs by photoluminescence spectroscopy and their morphology by atomic force microscopy. We show that the QD size can be tuned and emission with inhomogeneous broadening down to 8.9 meV can be achieved. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.