Impact of size, shape and composition on piezoelectric effects and the electronic properties of InGaAs/GaAs quantum dots

Abstract

The strain fields in and around self-organized In(Ga)As/GaAs quantum dots (QD) sensitively depend on QD geometry, average InGaAs composition and the In/Ga distribution profile. Piezoelectric fields of varying size are one result of these strain fields. We study systematically a large variety of realistic QD geometries and composition profiles, and calculate the linear and quadratic parts of the piezoelectric field. The balance of the two orders depends strongly on the QD shape and composition. For pyramidal InAs QDs with sharp interfaces a strong dominance of the second order fields is found. Upon annealing the first order terms become dominant, resulting in a reordering of the electron p- and d-states and a reorientation of the hole wavefunctions.