Post-thermal-Induced Recrystallization in GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As Quantum Dots Grown by Droplet Epitaxy with Near-Unity Stoichiometry

Here, we investigate the stoichiometry control of GaAs/Al0.3Ga0.7As droplet epitaxy (DE) quantum dots (QDs). Few tens of core nonstoichiometries in the Ga(As) atomic percent are revealed in as-grown “strain-free” QDs using state-of-the-art atomic-scale energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy based on transmission electron microscopy. Precise systematic analyses demonstrate a successful quenching of the nonstoichiometry below 2%. The control of the chemical reactions with well-controlled ex situ annealing sheds light on the engineering of a novel single-photon source of strain-free DE QDs free of defects.