InP quantum dots embedded in GaP: Optical properties and carrier dynamics

The optical emission and dynamics of carriers in Stranski-Krastanow self-organized InP quantum dots embedded in a GaP matrix are studied. InP deposited on GaP (001) using gas-source molecular-beam epitaxy forms quantum dots for InP coverage greater than 1.8 monolayers. Strong photoluminescence from the quantum dots is observed up to room temperature at about 2 eV; photoluminescence from the two-dimensional InP wetting layer is measured at about 2.2 eV. Modeling based on the “model-solid theory” indicates that the band alignment for the InP quantum dots is direct and type I. Furthermore, low-temperature time-resolved photoluminescence measurements indicate that the carrier lifetime in the quantum dots is about 2 ns, typical for type-I quantum dots. Pressure-dependent photoluminescence measurements provide further evidence for a type-I band alignment for InP/GaP quantum dots at normal pressure with the GaP X states lying about 30 meV higher than the $\Gamma$ states in the InP quantum dots, but indicate that they become type II under hydrostatic pressures of about 1.2 GPa.