Radiative lifetimes of single excitons in semiconductor quantum dots — manifestation of the spatial coherence effect

Using time correlated single photon counting combined with temperature dependent diffraction limited confocal photoluminescence spectroscopy we accurately determine, for the first time, the intrinsic radiative lifetime of single excitons confined within semiconductor quantum dots. Their lifetime is one (two) orders of magnitude longer than the intrinsic radiative lifetime of single excitons confined in semiconductor quantum wires (wells) of comparable confining dimensions. We quantitatively explain this long radiative time in terms of the reduced spatial coherence between the confined exciton dipole moment and the radiation electromagnetic field.