Interpretation of near-field images of semiconductor nanostructures

We discuss near-field wave function imaging, introducing a model for high spatial resolution photoluminescence imaging of semiconductor nanostructures. The model is applied to optically bright and dark exciton and biexciton states in different quantum dot systems, explicitly taking the experimental imaging configuration into account. Our results show that direct imaging of the exciton density is only possible in collection mode experiments with nonresonant excitation in the high-resolution limit. For other geometries and for biexcitonic states, the images reflect not only the size and shape of the wave function and the spatial resolution of the near-field probe but also in particular the inherent optical nonlinearity of the imaging process. Different examples for the effects of this nonlinearity are discussed, providing new insight into the interpretation of existing experiments, and guidelines for designing novel experiments.