Site-Controlled Natural GaAs(111) Quantum Dots Fabricated on Vertical GaAs/Ge Microcrystals on Deeply Patterned Si(001) Substrates

Semiconductor quantum dots (QDs), made of III–V semiconductors alloys, have attracted increasing interest in the last two decades, especially for their possible usage in quantum information technology. However, for such advanced applications, the requisite control of the QD's position cannot be achieved by the conventional growth techniques. Moreover, silicon (Si) dominates the microelectronic technology but its use is limited for optoelectronic applications due to its indirect bandgap. Therefore, the possibility to integrate QDs made of III–V alloys on a Si-based platform and circuitry is of the utmost importance. However, this is hindered by the very different lattice constants and thermal expansion coefficients of Si and GaAs, which generate strain and defects. In this paper we overcome the mismatch problems using the self-limited growth of germanium on micro-patterned (001) Si to obtain a relaxed GaAs(111) oriented epilayer for the subsequent heteroepitaxy of III–V nanostructures. In particular we optically characterize a stack of three GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells (QWs) grown on top of the Si/Ge pillars. We provide clear evidence of the presence of naturally formed QDs, due to QW thickness fluctuations, and their position control with micrometer resolution, given by the pillar distance.