J. Grenzer¹, U. Zeimer² , S.A. Grigorian¹, S. Feranchuk¹, U. Pietsch¹, J. Fricke², H. Kissel², A. Knauer², and M. Weyers²

Published in:

Physical Review B 69, 125316 (2004).

Abstract:

We have developed a method to design a lateral band-gap modulation in a quantum well heterostructure. The lateral strain variation is induced by patterning of a stress or layer grown on top of a single quantum well which itself is not patterned. The three-dimensional 3D strain distribution within the lateral nanostructure is calculated using linear elasticity theory applying a finite element technique. Based on the deformation potential approach the calculated strain distribution is translated into a local variation of the band-gap energy. Using a given vertical layer structure we are able to optimize the geometrical parameters to provide a nanostructure with maximum lateral band-gap variation. Experimentally such a structure was realized by etching a surface grating into a tensile-strained InGaP stress or layer grown on top of a compressively strained InGaAs-single quantum well. The achieved 3D strain distribution and the induced band-gap variation are successfully probed by x-ray grazing incidence diffraction and low-temperature photoluminescence measurements, respectively.

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