Size dependence of biexciton binding energy in strained ZnTe/(Zn,Mg)Te nanowire quantum dots

TL;DR

This study investigates how the size of strained ZnTe/(Zn,Mg)Te nanowire quantum dots affects biexciton binding energy, revealing a decrease and change from binding to antibinding with increasing dot length due to piezoelectric effects.

Contribution

It provides experimental and theoretical insights into size-dependent biexciton binding energy and its transition from binding to antibinding in nanowire quantum dots.

Findings

Biexciton binding energy decreases with increasing quantum dot length.

Transition from bound to antibinding biexciton character observed.

Piezoelectric fields cause electron-hole separation affecting biexciton properties.

Abstract

Nanowire quantum dots, i.e., heterostructures consisting of an axial insertion of low bandgap semiconductor within large band gap semiconductor nanowire, attract interest due to their emerging applications in the field of quantum communication technology. Here, we report on the fabrication of ZnTe/(Zn,Mg)Te nanowire quantum dots by molecular beam epitaxy and on a detailed investigation of the optical emission from individual structures by means of a combined study involving cathodoluminescence and micro-photoluminescence. A distinct dependence of the biexciton binding energy, defined as the spectral distance between the exciton and biexciton emission lines on the length of ZnTe axial insertions, is observed. With increasing dot length, not only does the biexciton binding energy value decrease distinctly, but also its character changes from binding to antibinding. The explanation of this effect relies on the appearance of a piezoelectric field along the nanowire axis, leading to a pronounced separation of electrons and holes. The change from a bound to an unbound character of biexciton energy can be well reproduced by theoretical calculations, which indicate an important contribution of excited hole states to this effect in the case of relatively large quantum dots.