Selective growth of InAs self-assembled quantum dots on nanopatterned SiO2/Si substrate

Abstract

We report the selective growth of InAs self-assembled quantum dots (SAQDs) on silicon-dioxide/silicon $({\mathrm{SiO}}_{\mathrm{2}}\mathrm{/Si})$ substrates patterned in nanometer scale. The ${\mathrm{SiO}}_{\mathrm{2}}$ thin film is found to be an efficient mask material for prohibiting the growth of InAs SAQDs, while the formation of stable SAQDs is observed on the exposed surface of Si. We have utilized this selectivity to demonstrate almost one-dimensional alignment of InAs SAQDs on Si stripes. The crystallinity of SAQDs is also identified by high-resolution transmission electron microscope observation. Our study opens up a possibility of reliably integrating III–V quantum dot devices with conventional Si circuits.