Influence of stress on optical transitions in GaN nanorods containing a single InGaN/GaN quantum disk

Cathodoluminescence (CL) hyperspectral imaging has been performed on GaN nanorods containing a single InGaN quantum disk (SQD) with controlled variations in excitation conditions. Two different nanorod diameters (200 and 280 nm) have been considered. Systematic changes in the CL spectra from the SQD were observed as the accelerating voltage of the electron beam and its position of incidence are varied. It is shown that the dominant optical transition in the SQD varies across the nanorod as a result of interplay between the contributions of the deformation potential and the quantum-confined Stark effect to the transition energy as consequence of radial variation in the pseudomorphic strain. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.