Photoluminescence study of type-II submonolayer quantum dots

We have studied the optical properties of InAs/GaAsSb submonolayer quantum dots (SML-QDs) through excitation intensity (Iex) and temperature dependent photoluminescence (PL) experiments. The SML-QDs with type-I (T-1) and type-II (T-2) band structures were grown using a GaAsSb spacer with a Sb composition of 0% and 15.8%. At 13 K, the PL signals from the T-1 and the T-2 samples were observed at 1.42 eV and 1.37 eV, respectively, when the Iex was 8.7 mW/cm². The PL signal of the T-1 sample is due to the recombination of electrons and holes in the InAs SML-QDs. The PL signal of the T-2 sample is due to the recombination of electrons (in the GaAs electron band) and holes (in the GaAsSb spacer hole band) by type-II band alignment formed between GaAs and GaAsSb. The full widths at half maxima (FWHMs) of the T-1 and the T-2 samples were 7.09 meV and 24.6 meV, respectively, because the T-2 sample has a lower uniformity than the T-1 sample. As the excitation intensity was increased, the PL signals of the T-1 and the T-2 samples shifted to lower energy because of the quantum-confined Stark effect. As a result of these temperature-dependent PL experiments, the activation energy of the T-1 sample was found to be 30 meV.