Interband transitions in InAs quantum dots in InP studied by photoconductivity and photoluminescence techniques

We report on a detailed investigation of the interband optics of self-assembled InAs dots embedded in a matrix of InP. In photoconductivity (PC) measurements, we observe optical processes related to the dots and a wetting layer, band-to-band excitation of the InP barrier, as well as to an interesting As-related impurity. In particular, the PC measurements reveal the electronic structure of the dots and strongly suggest that an Auger effect is involved in forming the PC signal. Comparing the PC and photoluminescence (PL) signals, we observe that the fundamental transition is not observed in PC, which we interpret in terms of Pauli blocking due to electrons populating the ground state of the dots. In general, it is demonstrated that the PC technique is in many respects complementary to PL and gives additional insight into the electronic structure of quantum dots. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.