Theoretical and Experimental Study of Lower-Dimensional One-Dimensional and Zero-Dimensional Strained Quantum System.

With the success of the optoelectronic devices based on the two-dimensional (2D) quantum well, it is a natural trend to continue to reduce system's dimensionality to 1D and 0D systems. However, extrinsic fabrication defects such as process-induced damage and pattern non-uniformity and intrinsic defects such as a slower hot carrier cooling rate can render the luminescence of the wires and dots extremely poor. In this dissertation, I will show that strain modulation and low-damage dry/wet etching techniques allow one to obtain high luminescence strain-induced quantum wires (SIQWs) and dots (SIQDs) with lateral dimensions less than 100 nm. The reduction of the fabrication-induced defects has allowed us to examine the intrinsic optical properties of the SIQWs and SIQDs through the photoluminescence (PL), PL excitation (PLE), and PL decay spectroscopy. Using epitaxial InGaAs layer as a stressor, we have achieved a ~20 meV of strain modulation and a ~7 meV of subband spacing in the SIQW structures having a lateral dimension of 75 nm and have observed an increase of FL decay time in the SIQD structures. The energy shifts, subband spacing, and increased PL decay time observed in the SIQWs and SIQDs can be well interpreted by our theoretical model, based on solving both the elasticity equation as well as the Luttinger-Kohn four-band Hamiltonian including strain.