Temperature dependence of ultrasharp luminescence lines in AlyIn1−yAs/AlxGa1−xAs self-assembled quantum dots

Ensembles of~600 AlyIn1−yAs/AlxGa1−xAs self-assembled quantum dots (QDs) are investigated using photoluminescence (PL) and time-resolved PL in the visible. At very low excitation intensities, the PL spectrum shows multiple ultranarrow luminescence lines (FWHM ~200 μeV), which are attributed to the ground-state transition of a few dots (4 or less). The temperature and intensity evolution of these sharp lines is then monitored. The temperature-dependent measurements show that the line width and lifetime of the narrow lines remain constant up to the onset of thermionic, emission. Intensity-dependent measurements show that for high excitation density the collective background, emitted by the ensemble of QDs, is enhanced relative to the amplitude of individual ultranarrow lines.