Self-consistent Coulomb effects and charge distribution of quantum dot arrays

TL;DR

This paper models the Coulomb interactions and charge distribution in arrays of self-assembled InAs quantum dots embedded in a pn structure, emphasizing self-consistent calculations of electronic states and potential distribution.

Contribution

It introduces a Green's function based model that includes screening effects to simulate Coulomb interactions and charge distribution in quantum dot arrays within a pn structure.

Findings

The model accurately predicts capacitance-voltage characteristics.

Screening effects significantly influence charge distribution.

Size and spatial distribution of QDs affect electronic properties.

Abstract

This paper considers the self-consistent Coulomb interaction within arrays of self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) which are embedded in a pn structure. Strong emphasis is being put on the statistical occupation of the electronic QD states which has to be solved self-consistently with the actual three-dimensional potential distribution. A model which is based on a Green's function formalism including screening effects is used to calculate the interaction of QD carriers within an array of QDs, where screening due to the inhomogeneous bulk charge distribution is taken into acount. We apply our model to simulate capacitance-voltage (CV) characteristics of a pn structure with embedded QDs. Different size distributions of QDs and ensembles of spatially perodic and randomly distributed arrays of QDs are investigated.