Influence of a lateral electric field on the optical properties of InAs quantum dots

We have performed single dot photoluminescence and time-resolved ensemble photoluminescence measurements on InAs quantum dots embedded in a lateral in-plane p–i–n or n–i–n device, respectively, which makes the application of lateral electric fields, i.e. field direction perpendicular to the growth direction, feasible. Time-resolved measurements show an increase in the radiative lifetime of up to 30% with increasing field. We attribute this to the reduced overlap between the electron and hole wave functions. Single dot spectroscopy revealed a small red-shift of the emission energies of maximum 0.5 meV. This shift can be explained by the quantum confined Stark effect taking into account that the red-shift due to the band-tilting is partly compensated by a decrease in exciton binding energy.