Optical characterization of individual semiconductor nanostructures using a scanning tunneling microscope.
By injecting low-energy minority carriers from the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and analyzing the light emitted from the tip-sample gap of the STM, it is possible to study the optical and electronic properties of individual semiconductor nanostructures with an extremely high spatial resolution close to the atomic scale. This technique has been applied to investigate the transport properties of hot electrons injected into AlGaAs/GaAs quantum well structures and the optical properties of single self-assembled InAs/AlGaAs quantum dots. The physical principles, usefulness and future expectations of this novel technique are discussed.
Tsuruoka
Tohru
T
Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University, Sendai 980-8577, Japan. tsuruoka@ushioda.riec.tohoku.ac.jp
Ushioda
Sukekatsu
S