Strained InGaAs/GaAs quantum wires: modeling and optical properties

Quasi one-dimensional charge carriers and their unique density of states are prerequisite for various types of novel semiconductor devices. The incorporation of biaxial strain is known to improve quantum well laser properties considerably. The axial components of the strain tensor results in a favorable modification of the bandstructure, i.e. splitting of the hole-bands, while the hydrostatic component just shifts the bandgap. In quantum wires, however, due to geometrical constraints in all three dimensions, the situation is more complicated. In this paper we present model calculations for the strain distribution and the electronic levels for realistic pseudomorphic InGaAs/GaAs quantum wires for the first time. The quantum wires have been fabricated using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on nonplanar substrates. The optical properties of the wires are characterized with cathodoluminescence imaging