Self-assembled quantum dots and nanoholes by molecular beam epitaxial growth and atomically precise in situ etching

Ensembles of homogeneous self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) and nanoholes are fabricated using molecular beam epitaxy in combination with atomically precise in situ etching. Self-assembled InAs QDs with height fluctuations of +/-5% were grown using a very low indium growth rate on GaAs (001) substrate. If these dots are capped with GaAs at low temperature, strong room temperature emission at 1.3 mum with a linewidth of 21 meV from the islands is observed. Subsequently, we fabricate homogeneous arrays of nanoholes by in situ etching the GaAs surface of the capped InAs QDs with AsBr3. The depths of the nanoholes can be tuned over a range of 1-6 nm depending on the nominal etching depth and the initial capping layer thickness. We appoint the formation of nanoholes to a pronounced selectivity of the AsBr3 to local strain fields. The holes can be filled with InAs again such that an atomically flat surface is recovered. QDs in the second layer preferentially form at those sites, where the holes were initially created. Growth conditions for the second InAs layer can be chosen in such a way that lateral QD molecules form on a flat surface.