Nominally forbidden transitions in the interband optical spectrum of quantum dots

Abstract

We calculate the excitonic optical absorption spectra of (In,Ga)As/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots by adopting an atomistic pseudopotential approach to the single-particle problem followed by a configuration-interaction approach to the many-body problem. We find three types of allowed transitions that would be naively expected to be forbidden. (i) Transitions that are parity forbidden in simple effective mass models with infinite confining wells (e.g. 1S-2S, 1P-2P) but are possible by finite band-offsets and orbital-mixing effects; (ii) light-hole--to--conduction transitions, enabled by the confinement of light-hole states; and (iii) transitions that show and enhanced intensity due to electron-hole configuration mixing with allowed transitions. We compare these predictions with results of 8-band k.p calculations as well as recent spectroscopic data. Transitions in (i) and (ii) explain recently observed satellites of the allowed P-P transitions.

arXiv commentVersion published in Phys. Rev. B

References in corpus (6)

• Eight-band calculations of strained InAs/GaAs quantum dots compared with one, four, and six-band approximations
• Comparison of two methods for describing the strain profiles in quantum dots
• Theoretical interpretation of the experimental electronic structure of lens shaped, self-assembled InAs/GaAs quantum dots
• Electron Spin Decoherence in Bulk and Quantum Well Zincblende Semiconductors
• Dependence of the electronic structure of self-assembled InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots on height and composition
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Cited by in corpus (3)

• Influence of symmetry and Coulomb-correlation effects on the optical properties of nitride quantum dots
• Calculation of conduction-to-conduction and valence-to-valence transitions between bound states in (In,Ga)As/GaAs quantum dots
• Optical pumping of charged excitons in unintentionally doped InAs quantum dots