Semiconductor quantum dots created by postgrowth treatment

Semiconductor nanometer-scale dots were created by postgrowth hydrogen treatment of GaN films grown on sapphire and silicon substrates with AlN or GaN buffer layers and CdTe and HgCdTe films grown on CdZnTe substrates. HRSEM and AFM measurements confirmed that the nanometer-scale dots were formed by the treatment both on flat and inclined faces regardless of a lattice mismatch between the materials used. Changing hydrogenation conditions controls a density and size of the dots. The blue-light emissions observed from GaN quantum dots were attributed to the presence of a piezoelectric field in the dots.